The Unlikely Team
by BurntPickle
Summary: Katsuki Azuma - a teenage girl raised by criminal parents - somehow got dragged into the Kira case by L himself. But what happens when Kira finds out about her small acts of crime? He kills her of course, like he would anyone else. But... what if it didn't work? And what the heck is a Shinigami? (Lots of vulgar language)
1. Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Meeting

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Sad day, isn't it?**

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Chapter 1

I casually strode through the indoor supermarket with my hands buried in my jacket pockets. I wore a blank white baseball cap that was just a little too big for my head, so the rim of the hat fell over my eyes. Despite the fact that it occasionally got in the way, it was great for hiding my face from Kira. Which was something I needed to desperately keep hidden.

My name was Katsuki Azuma. You could say I was pretty average. My brunette hair was always pulled back in a sleek ponytail in my best attempt to keep clean, since showers weren't exactly as common as I'd like them to be. I normally wore a pair of black skinny jeans and a light grey hoodie to try and blend in with the crowds that covered the sidewalks on a regular daily basis. I wasn't all that pretty; my pale blue eyes were a little too normal and my lips were too thin. And my boobs didn't really exist, either, though that didn't bother me at all. Just extra storage space.

The only problem with wearing a cap indoors is that it _did_ look quite suspicious. But I didn't want to risk letting my face be seen in any of the security cameras. I was only fifteen. I didn't want to be killed by Kira at such a young age. He already stole the lives of my parents a couple years back.

Both of my parents had been highly skilled in the life of criminals. They did a bunch of cool things but weren't involved with the government. They would be paid to find someone who owed their customer something, and my parents would go and track them down. Or sometimes they'd kill someone who had done a serious crime and refused to be brought down by justice. Or occasionally they liked to help someone with a serious craving for revenge. I always thought of them as the coolest parents ever, no matter how lame that sounded.

As for school? I was homeschooled for the majority of my life. Mostly because my parents didn't want me babbling about their super-cool jobs to the other children. I had always wanted to go to school and be normal, but as I grew older I began to realize that they were smart for keeping me out of public school.

I stopped in front of a carton of apples. I danced my fingers over the delicious looking red fruit, looking for one that could be slipped into my pocket.

Just because I hadn't been trained personally by my parents, that doesn't mean I never picked anything up from them. I learned a few cool, awesome tricks that could outsmart people. And I definitely got my attitude from my dad. He was always pretty snarky, and like any other daughter, I loved my daddy.

When they were killed, it shattered me. But I didn't want to go to the police. I didn't want to be thrown into foster care and bounced from family to family who I knew wouldn't want me. I was too whiney and stubborn for most people to put up with. And I had a knack for never biting my tongue. I was _still_ working on keeping my mouth shut in front of people.

I picked up an apple and examined it. Or, pretended to examine it. I was actually slowly scratching off the sticker while I turned it over and over in my hands. I'd even set it down a few times and look at different ones, but I'd always go back to that one apple. It took about a minute or so to finally get the sticker off, but I knew my time would be worth it.

But as soon as I slipped the apple into my pocket, I knew I had made a mistake. I had done this so many times that I just assumed it would be okay. But like anybody with any kind of bad luck, today wasn't my day.

I had forgotten to make sure nobody was watching. An amateur mistake that I'd probably beat myself up for later.

"Hey, you. Why don't you get a bag or something to stick that apple in?" A worker tapped my shoulder. "It kind of looks like you're stealing it."

I glanced over my shoulder and flashed him a catlike smirk. "I'm sorry for this."

He blinked in confusion only once before I slammed my fist into his gut. He immediately doubled over, and I hopped around him in a not-so-graceful manner before darting towards the doors.

People split a path out for me like I had wanted them to, but the workers weren't so cooperative. I was running as fast as I could without dropping the fruit, but I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun them.

One worker, a scrawny guy, crossed my path expecting me to stop. But I didn't stop. I sidestepped his arms that swooped forwards to grab me, and then I reached out a foot and snagged his leg. I pulled his foot out from under him and caused him to fall forwards and land hard on his hands. I could bet that he sprained a wrist or two.

_Only a few more steps._ I promised myself. But as I did, a bulkier man got in the way. My steps stuttered and he dropped low to grab for my legs. I gasped and did the first thing I thought of. I jumped over his shoulder and planted my foot on the back of his head to propel me forwards. He wasn't a reliable object to jump off of, but it got me going again.

I landed on my feet just in front of the two sliding glass doors, but the doors weren't moving. I didn't have time to wait for them to open. Waiting was stupid and too slow, so instead I crashed through the doors while shielding my face with an arm.

Pieces of glass shattered in every direction. Many of them attached to me and cut through my clothes and scratched my skin. A few shards slashed at my face and hands, and I even felt a few break through the skin on my neck.

I dropped to the ground and used all of my momentum to roll a few times before pushing myself back up onto my feet. My legs weren't happy about moving, but they operated anyway. I took a sharp right turn and dashed down the alley to escape.

Most of the remaining pieces of glass fell off of me as I ran. I glanced over my shoulder to see if I had any pursuers, but it didn't look like it. They must've realized that it was just one apple that wasn't even worth a dollar. To me, it was worth so much more, though. It was enough to satisfy me through the night, and that was incredibly valuable to me.

I rounded the corner to start heading back to the nasty old apartment that I was 'living' in for the time being. I had to-

My train of thought stopped when I smashed straight into someone. Our shoulders clashed with such force that it knocked me to the ground. I winced and curled my arms against me to try and keep from getting too scraped up, but in the meantime my apple dropped from my pocket and rolled away from me.

I lunged for it and tried to snatch the apple before it rolled into the street, but then it dropped over the curb, rolled a little more, and then was smashed by a truck.

I groaned and went limp. "I can't ever win…" I muttered and slowly sat up. I looked over my shoulder to try and apologize, but then I saw someone that I wasn't sure was all that better off than I was.

He had some of the roundest, black colored eyes I'd ever seen, with heavy bags underneath. He was already pushing himself up to his feet and brushing a few pebbles off of his baggy white long-sleeved shirt and faded blue jeans. His hair was literally just on his head. No style at all, but instead looked recently towel dried and forced through a tornado. He looked to be in his mid-twenties maybe, but it's not every day that I see someone missing his shoes. Yes, his feet were barefoot for whatever reason.

"Sorry about that…" I muttered and took off my cap to shake some glass loose. On normal circumstances I wouldn't have showed my face, but there was no way someone like this was Kira, and he didn't look like he cared to report me to Kira for anything.

"No, no, it's quite alright. I wasn't watching where I was going." He replied in a casual voice. "Are _you_ alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I took a deep breath and stood up. I winced as a few pieces of glass that were still in my jeans poked at my skin. I'd have to take care of those later. And also add 'jump through glass' to my list of things to never do again. I replaced my cap back on my head and ran my hand over my ponytail to scatter any shards left in my hair.

"How could you have ever gotten into such a mess?" He asked curiously.

"Oh, uh. You know… just doing stuff. Teenager stuff." I laughed nervously and started to back away. "Listen, I got to go and, uh, figure out what I'm going to eat now."

"Hold on a moment." He stopped me as I was turning around to take off again. I sucked in a sharp breath through my teeth and groaned softly. "Are you keen about Kira being caught?"

I turned around and pinched my eyebrows with a frown. "Why does it matter to you?"

"Judging by how you were frantically trying to get away after causing quite a scene back at the supermarket, you must not be too big of a fan of Kira's work. If like I've deducted about you, you are only steal small things and really don't cause many people much harm, but I'm sure you also assume that Kira will not ignore the fact that you _have_ done wrong."

"Jeez, way to rub it into my face. Thanks." I muttered through gritted teeth. Who did this guy think he was? At least I had some shoes on.

"Who are you?" I went ahead and asked. What did I have to lose?

"With just a name and a face, Kira seems to be able to kill whoever he pleases. He dusts convicts of all sorts off the planet mercilessly, but favors those who are innocent. And if I'm right, Light may react in a sort of displeasure when he learns just who you are and what kind of hobby you have for yourself. That would only make it even more obvious that he is Kira if he was to frown at you." Somewhere in the middle of his little speech, I think he forgot that I had no idea who the hell he was and just went off into his own little world.

"O…kay?" I awkwardly grinned.

"Tell me, what is your name?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Why should I do that? What proof do you have that you're not Kira?"

"Because if I'm leading an investigation to catch Kira, don't you think it would be a little contradictory? It would be an endless cycle of me trying to outsmart myself. But, I'm almost certain that one of my friends – or I guess you'd just call him a coworker – just might be Kira."

I didn't trust this guy, but with the way he was talking, it didn't sound like he was lying. I had been searching him with my eyes for any signs that he wasn't tell the truth. All I needed was a twitch, a waver of voice, a tapping of his foot, or _something_. But no, he just stood there and stared at me with his odd wide eyes for the entire time. I don't even think he blinked, unless I missed that.

"I wonder what would happen if Light was to interact with you." He thought out loud while I just stood there, wanting to get out of here. "If you don't mind, I'd like to see Light's reaction to you. Of course, if you die tonight, then that confirms that he is Kira."

My jaw smashed to the floor. "If I die tonight?! My schedule does not include dying anytime soon. Sorry if that's what you were hoping." I shook my head, bewildered by his bluntness. Did he think I wanted to die? Because really I was interested in living. You know, like almost everybody else? Life wasn't as good as it could be, but I'm sure Hell isn't gonna be any better.

There was no way that I'd agree to whatever he was talking about. First of all; he didn't have the appearance of someone in charge of an 'investigation'. Second; he wasn't telling me who he was. He may have thought of me to be the naïve little girl, but I was actually quite smart… Sort of… Okay, I was street smart and oddly creative. That has to score me a few points in the genius game.

"There is only a 42% chance that you'll die from the hand of Light. You see, Light is a very clever person. It would be unlike him to strike you down as soon as possible. But, if Light isn't Kira at all and I'm wrong, then unless this other Kira has your name and face, you should be alright. Really it all depends on if my deductions are correct."

My mouth was hanging open by the time he finished. "What?" I squinted my eyes tight. "Who…? What?" What was this guy talking about? Who the heck is Light, anyway? Isn't that the opposite of darkness or something, not a person? Was he insane? He surely looked like it. I mean, if I thought light was a human and not something that makes shadows, then I'd probably be making a call on a payphone to the asylum.

From behind him, a limo pulled up and rolled to a stop beside him. He didn't even glance over, like it was nothing.

"Ryuzaki, are you ready to go?" The driver's window rolled down and an elderly man spoke.

"Yes, Watari." Ryuzaki, aka the psycho in front of me, replied. "Would you like to come with?" He asked as he turned and walked towards the limo.

"No thanks, I'll pass." I mumbled.

"You sure?" He asked as Watari held something out. Ryuzaki took it from his hand and presented it to me, as if all of this was planned. "You'd be well fed."

My mouth watered at the offering. It was probably the most beautiful loaf of bread, of course with the steam coming off of it, I had ever seen. I stared at the loaf, tempted to snatch it off his hand and run. My hand twitched at my side. I needed that bread. It would make my night so much better.

My lips parted as if to say something, but no words came out. My stomach was starting to make that grumbling noise again.

I sighed and pursed my lips, knowing I'd never forgive myself for doing this.

"Ten minutes, that's all. Then I'll leave."

He smirked. "As expected."

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**This chapter has been rewritten, and the next few chapters will be the same. I'm doing this because the original begging chapters didn't contribute to the story very much, and also I look back and realize that they could use a little more description. **

**~BurntPickle**


	2. Chapter 2 - Of all People

Chapter 2

The limo pulled up next to a huge building. Like, huge. It's one of those buildings that puts skyscrapers to shame. It had shiny windows and stood plenty of stories high. I climbed out of the limo while fighting the urge to pretend to be a superstar, and distracted my imagination with the enormous building towering in front of me.

"You work here?" I muttered out loud.

"Yes, I do."

My mouth hung open so wide that I might have been able to fit my fist in my mouth. "You're kidding me."

"Do I look like the kind of guy to crack jokes?" He walked past me and headed inside. The doors opened for him automatically, like the ones at the store, but these ones were much faster and smoother than the ones a crashed through. I doubt I'll be allowed to ruin these doors. "Are you coming?" He called back after standing in the doorway for a moment.

"Oh, yeah."

I hurried after him but my eyes wandered in a horrible attempt to take everything in all at once.

"Ryuzaki, you're back!" A dark haired man in his mid-twenties ran forwards to greet the slouching guy next to me, but when his innocent looking eyes fell on me, he gained a puzzled expression. "Um, who's your friend?"

I fought the urge to scoff at him.

"Matsuda, this is Katsuki, otherwise known as Kat. She'll be working with us to give us a better experience of the criminal life and thoughts, such as their fears and thoughts of Kira."

This 'Matsuda' grinned and extended a hand. "A pleasure to meet you!" He said cheerfully.

I hesitated before taking his hand and loosely shaking it for only a moment, and then I dropped his hand.

"Matsuda, where is Light and Misa?" Ryuzaki asked.

"Oh, uh, last I heard they went out to celebrate their one month anniversary." Matsuda put on a cheeky grin. "Those two are so cute. I think the chief is glad that his son actually has a girlfriend. Maybe it'll relieve some of the stress on the chief, knowing that his son is happy."

"Yes, maybe." Ryuzaki walked on and approached a giant collection of a bunch of screens, TVs and chairs. And snacks. So, so many snacks.

"So, how far are you guys on this investigation, anyways?" I asked, following slowly after Ryuzaki.

"We've been able to narrow it down quite a bit." Ryuzaki said as he took a seat in a chair. Or, actually, he climbed into it. His feet were underneath him and his knees stayed neck to his chest. That couldn't possibly be comfortable. I mean, his ankles and toes were probably going to need surgery in the future, or something. No human is supposed to just sit like that.

"Oh really? Who's your main suspect?" I asked.

From behind me I heard the doors sliding open. Ryuzaki's eyes glided past me and watched whoever just came inside. Naturally I also turned around, only to see two people instead of one.

One of them was a cute girl with blonde hair, and parts were pulled back into pigtails. Her light brown eyes were surprisingly large and carefree looking. In one of her hands she carried a purse, while the other was clasped to a boy's hand.

The guy was a good head taller than she was, and had long brown hair that swooped down to hang over his eyebrows. His eyes were also brown, but I instantly noticed the fact that they almost seemed to have a sharp glare to them. Despite his relatively good looking face, he did have that kind of vibe that said 'I might kill you if you piss me off'.

"Him." Ryuzaki said. "I believe that Light Yagami is Kira."

The guy, or I guess his name is Light, flinched and dropped her hand. "You still think that? Ryuzaki, I've already told you, I'm _not Kira_!" Then he looked over at me. "And besides, who is she?"

"Katsuki, or Kat for short." I answered.

The girl giggled and ran forwards to take hold of my hands with a smile. "My name is Misa Amane."

"Misa… Misa…" I muttered her first name under my breath while I dug through my brain for a clue. I know I've heard of her before, but where? "Oh, I know, you're Misa Misa, the model! Wait, and aren't you an actress? Hold on, you sing too. Right?" I blinked a few times.

She nodded eagerly. "Right you are!"

"And Misa is our suspect for being the second Kira." Ryuzaki added.

Her eyes widened. (Which I didn't even think could happen. But what did I know?) She looked over at Ryuzaki. "I think you just suspect me because you're jealous of Light." She ran back over and wrapped herself around his arm. She spit her tongue out. "Well I don't care if you're L or not, I love Light with all of my heart!"

I heard an annoyed groan come from Ryuzaki – No, L.

"Hold it!" I shouted before anybody could start talking again. Turning around on a heel, I pointed a finger at the guy sitting oddly in his chair with his index finger touching his lips again, as if in deep thought. "_You're _L? Like, the greatest detective in the world L?" My jaw hit the floor. "You're kidding." I shook my head slowly, in denial, and laughed. "Of course you're kidding."

"No, Kat. This is the real L." Light pulled away from Misa's grasp and walked up beside me. "We call him Ryuzaki instead, though, so make sure you use that name instead." He paused and looked down at me. "By the way, why are you here?"

_If this guy is Kira, would it be safe to admit that I'm a criminal? Sure, I haven't killed anybody, even though I came close once. But I doubt that Kira would have a soft side, even for someone who just steals a few meals every once and awhile._

"She's from the streets. I had Watari do a background check on her." Ryuzaki said. "She often steals food from the local supermarket, but never anything big, but just enough for her to get by for another day or two. She was orphaned at age nine, and has been surviving on the streets for seven years ever since, and never once has she ever been caught."

Who was Watari? Huh…

I noticed Light stiffen beside me. He studied me with a pair of sharp eyes. "You do realize that Kira could kill you if he found out your name, right? Why run the risk?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Clearly you aren't able to understand properly. I had no other choice. Nobody was going to accept a little nine year old to work for them. It was either starve to death, go to the police, or fend for myself."

"So why didn't you go to the police?" He asked.

"Because then I'd probably be handed over to some other family that I didn't even know. I didn't want to be adopted, and I still don't. I'd rather steal a bunch of bread rather than try to live with people who I barely knew."

"Hmm." His lips twitched and then he moved past me to go to Ryuzaki. "You never told me why you were going out."

"Ah, yes. I actually was just a little tired of being inside and decided to go for a little walk."

"Barefoot?" Light looked down at where Ryuzaki's feet made indents in the chair.

Ryuzaki nodded. "Yes. I don't own any shoes."

I was going to need a doctor to re-hinge my jaw to the rest of my head. At the rate it kept dropping, I wouldn't be able to pick it back up soon.

Who in the world didn't own any shoes? Apparently, the world's greatest detective didn't. How were his feet not black?

I shoved the many questions I kept coming up with into the back of my head to ponder later. None of those really mattered right now. The biggest problem for me was figuring out if Light was Kira, and if he was going to kill me somehow.

Wait a minute… Could L just be using me to be like some kind of test subject to see if Light would kill me? According to L, all Kira needed was a name and a face to kill someone. Light had both of those where it concerned me. Which means he could kill me. L made it clear that I was part of that 'criminal category', and he didn't even bat an eyelash while saying it, either.

"Hey Kat, are you planning on staying here with the rest of us?" Misa asked as she walked over to snuggle next to Light.

"You guys sleep here, too?"

She nodded. "Yep, and since you're working with us, you can stay here too!"

I had to fight the urge to bolt. This was becoming was too weird.

"Misa, why don't you show Kat to a room?" Light offered.

"Sure! Come on!" Misa ran forwards, grabbed my hand, and then started to drag me up the stairs. Apparently I didn't get much of a choice to stay here or not. At least I don't have to ask my mom for permission.


	3. Chapter 3 - Killed by Kira

Chapter 3

Later that night, I fell back against the soft, luxurious mattress. I apparently had my own floor, just like the others. I had no need for so much space, considering I was used to be crammed onto a sofa when I slept. But it was a nice change, and according to Misa, we were going shopping tomorrow, for whatever reason.

But I tossed and turned in bed, and sleep avoiding me at all costs. Everything was just so hard to grasp. I had gone from a girl on the streets to some girl working with the world's greatest detective. I got to meet the rest of the task force, also. I couldn't believe it, but I knew it wasn't all a dream.

After waging war with sleep, I finally surrendered and got up, throwing the sheet aside. Misa had loaned me a pair of sleep shorts and a baggy top to wear while I slept, which I was grateful for. But the shorts were just so high up on my legs that I was uncomfortable with them. Did all girls wear shorts that were only an inch or two away from flashing their underwear?

I walked down the stairs to go and take a breath outside, but I stopped on one floor and noticed the lights were on underneath a closed door. I walked over and put my ear to the door, but it was dead silence in there.

With no regards for privacy, I quietly opened the door. With a quick sweep around the room, it was obvious that this was Light's room. How did I know? He was sitting at his desk, writing something with so much concentration that he didn't even notice when I opened the door.

Whatever he was doing, it made me curious. No naturally I walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder.

He was writing in a lined notebook. The page on the left was filled with names of criminals I heard of on the news. The next page was fresh, and my name was half written. He had written Katsuki Azu, while my full name was Katsuki Azuma. I tapped him on the shoulder before he could finish.

His entire body shuddered, and he whirled around and slammed the notebook shoot at the same time. He looked at me with wild eyes, and I took a big step back.

"Uh, hey there." I did a little wiggle with my fingers.

"Oh, hi Katsuki. What are you doing awake?" The pitch of his voice was all over the place. I quickly glanced over his shoulder and looked at the notebook that his hand was sprawled over protectively. On the cover it read DEATH NOTE.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. "I could be asking you the same thing, Light."

He gave a soft chuckle, but I could hear the stress and panic hidden in his voice. "I was just taking note of all of the recent deaths. Ryuzaki requested that I do that"

That explained the title of the notebook, but still…

"Then why was my name there? Or, almost there?"

"What do you mean? I wasn't writing your name. There's…there was a girl who apparently killed her friend's boyfriend. Her name was Katsuki Azu."

I lifted an eyebrow. "Light Yagami, it sounds to me that you're lying. I would know the criminals since I watched the news every day." I tilted my head to the side in thought. "Why would you write my name?"

"I already explained it to you. It's not you, just a girl with a name very similar to yours."

"Then show me a picture of her. Right now. If Kira could get her face, he had to have some source. Show me a picture of this Katsuki Azu."

He reclined back in his chair and supported his head on his knuckles. "How about tomorrow? It might take some time to actually find a picture of her that's good quality."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, like I care if it's blurry or not. Let me see this." I reached forwards and grabbed his notebook, but as I did I got this strange chill and an odd feeling. A feeling that… something else was in the room.

Light grabbed my wrist just a moment too late. I had already touched it. I immediately jerked my hand away and heard a strange cackling from behind.

I turned slowly, only to see a monster sprawled out on Light's bed.

I screamed, but a hand clamped over my mouth and muffled the noise. The monster just stared with his beady, olive colored eyes, and his smile looked like a mix of the Joker and the Cheshire Cat. He was incredibly pale with spikey black hair. And he was huge and nowhere near proportional. His arms and legs were way too scrawny, and his waist was way too thin.

I smacked Light's hand away and threw myself backwards to get as far away from that… that _thing_ as I could. "What the hell is that thing?!" My voice was an octave too high. I shook with an unnatural fear, but I couldn't look away.

"Katsuki, you need to listen to me." Light said in a totally calm voice.

"How are you so relaxed when that thing is smothering your bed?" I pointed to the monster, who only cackled again.

"Hey now, I do have a name." It said in a scratchy voice.

"Oh my God, it talks." I pressed further back into the wall even though it wasn't going to protect me. "How come the thing is talking?"

Light picked up a juicy red apple on his desk and tossed it to the thing as if they were best buds. "Relax, he's not going to kill you."

"Then what is he doing here?" I snapped frantically.

The two of them exchanged glances before Light continued. "His name is Ryuk. He's a Shinigami."

"A Shini-_what_?"

"A Shinigami." Light repeated.

"Okay, that's great. A God of Death, right? I think heard of them. But that does _nothing_ to explain why the hell he's here."

Light let out a loud sigh. "If I tell you, you have to promise me to never say a word to anybody. Not even Ryuzaki."

I nodded slowly. "Fine. Explain this. Now."

He got closer to me and took ahold of both of my wrists before pinning him above my head.

"What are you doing?" I asked in a warning voice.

"Katsuki…" He whispered.

"What?"

He drew even closer until his head was right next to my ear. "I am Kira." He purred.

I didn't think. Though, I rarely gave any thought to anything. I just lifted my leg and kneed him in the place where it counts. His grip weakened and he leaned forwards, and I took advantage of his weakness. I shoved him backwards so that he fell onto the ground.

And then ran out of the door, about ready to get L, when a hand gripped my ankle. I tripped forwards and landed hard on my hands and knees, wincing as I fell.

"Katsuki, you can't tell anybody." Light said with a sharp glare. "I only have to write the rest of your name in my Death Note, and then you'll die. If you don't say a word, I won't kill you."

"So you were _planning_ on killing me. How did you learn my last name?"

He smiled. "All I had to do was ask Misa. She can see the names and lifespans of anybody."

My mouth fell open. "How?"

"She has the eyes of a Shinigami."

My eyebrows drew close together. "Did she like, walk up and pluck them out of a God or Death or something? Because then I'd have to admit that she's a brave girl."

He snorted. "No, she made a deal. Half of her lifespan for those eyes." A dangerous smile crept onto his face. "All of it just for me."

Suddenly the realization hit me. "You're just using Misa." I breathed.

He pretended to be shocked by raising his eyebrows. "What makes you think that?"

I gritted my teeth together and launched myself at him before he could react. My fist connected with his jaw. The punch make him release my ankle and retreat back a step. He spit out some blood onto the floor and curled his hands into fists.

Ryuk laughed again. "Wow, this is getting interesting, Light. I had thought she'd end up passing out or something." The Shinigami just couldn't stop laughing.

Light's shoulders rose and he glared at me from about six feet away. "I don't want to fight you, Katsuki."

"Then why are you killing so many people? Just because they committed crimes, that doesn't mean they don't feel sorry for them! You think I get joy out of stealing food? I don't. It's difficult to sleep at night, knowing that I've robbed people of things when I should have paid for them. Sure, some people killed on purpose, and maybe they deserve to die, but not everybody you see on the news is terrible."

He narrowed his glare even further. "How can you think like that? Those who killed somebody while drunk driving or something plead innocent, but they had the choice to stop or not. They didn't have to drink. They didn't have to drive home. They made the conscious choice, and I'm the only one who is willing to step up and do something about it."

"You're wrong, Light. There is a difference between doing things on accident and doing things on purpose. Those people who did things on accident don't deserve to die, especially if the guilt they feel in painful enough. I understand that you think that all those mass murders and rapists deserve to die, and maybe that's true, but you were about to kill _me_. I'm sorry if this doesn't make sense to you, but I do kind of like living. You already killed my parents, and I'm not going to let you kill me!" I felt tears burning in my eyes. I blinked hard to try and fight them.

He didn't even blink. "Your parents were also criminals?"

"Yes. And if you can't remember the names of the people you've killed, then that means you're just _hunting them._ You pick a target, apparently you write their name down in that little notebook, do your thing, and then they die without even getting to say goodbye to those who they love. What if they were in the middle of something, like driving for instance? Then they'd crash because _you_ gave them a heart attack, and it would be_ your_ fault if somebody else got hurt, making _you_ the killer. And in your eyes, don't all killers deserve to die?"

I knew I was pushing him. I knew that I was endangering myself. No doubt he'd scribble my name down.

And just like that, he stalked over to his notebook, picked it up, and wrote something quickly down on the page.

"Katsuki Azuma, you have forty seconds to live." He smiled sweetly and glanced at his watch. "Thirty-nine… thirty-eight…"


	4. Chapter 4 - The Attack

Chapter 4

I didn't know what to think. Forty seconds? Or actually, it was less than that. I'd be having a heart attack soon. How does one prepare for a heart attack? I guess nobody really knows, since you really never know when one is coming.

"I could tell L. Right now." I threatened. Why not waste my last few moments like this?

He smirked. "Go ahead. You'll never be able to wake him up in time."

I didn't even bother to make a witty comment, no matter how many were dancing on my tongue. I turned and darted out of the door.

And then there was only one problem. Where was L sleeping?

Light casually walked out of the door to follow me. He chuckled. "It was nice knowing you, Katsuki. I would've liked to spend more time getting to know you. You were an interesting girl."

I shot him a glare and flew down the stairs. As I turned to get down to the bottom floor, I saw Ryuzaki sitting there in his chair, staring at the screen wide eyed. Had he not heard what just happened?

I gasped softly and ran faster. Ryuzaki glanced up from the screen in front of him. "Is it morning already?"

"Ryuzaki, Li-" I couldn't finish my sentence before I felt the painful throb knock me to the ground. I didn't even make it down the stairs. I tripped and crumbled to a lump on the floor. Everything hurt, but why wasn't I dead yet?

"Katsuki, are you alright? That was quite a harsh fall." Ryuzaki said calmly. But when I didn't given a response, except for a few whimpers, concern dripped into his voice. "Katsuki?"

I clutched the collar of my jacket with a fist and tried to say something, but I couldn't. It hurt too much. Wasn't I supposed to be dead? Could I just die already? Or did Light purposely make it long so that I could regret everything I'd done in the past. Well, I wasn't regretting. I was extremely pissed and ticked, but I wasn't remorseful.

"Katsuki!" Light's voice echoed in the building, filled with total panic. "Katsuki, what happened?"

I opened my eyes and shot a glare at Light, who was crouching down next to me. He placed a hand on my shoulder and stared into my eyes with concern, but I could see the confusion in his eyes too. He was probably wondering why I wasn't dead yet also.

"Watari, call an ambulance." Ryuzaki said, and I heard a 'yes' as a response come from his computer. "Katsuki, can you still hear me? I can tell you're not dead because you're shaking uncontrollably."

I groaned and nodded slowly even though it hurt. My heart was throbbing in my chest. God, why couldn't I just die already?!

"She nodded." Light said and looked up at L.

A minute later I heard the sirens wailing outside. People rushed inside and I was lifted onto a gurney. But the pain never stopped. It just wouldn't go away, no matter how hard I tried to ignore it.

My eyes fluttered open slowly, and it hurt to look straight up into a light. My face scrunched and I forced myself to sit up.

"What? Where am I?"

"The hospital." Ryuzaki's voice came from across the room. I looked over with squinted eyes to see L and Light leaning against a wall. Light looked pissed. Very pissed. Why? I had no idea.

"Why?" I asked.

Ryuzaki narrowed his eyes. "You had a heart attack. Don't you remember?"

Surprise chilled my veins. "What? I don't remember any of that."

Light's eyes seemed to fill with relief, but maybe that was just me. "Well, I'm glad to see that you're alright."

I nodded. "But was it Kira?"

L slipped a spoonful of red Jell-O into his mouth. "Well," He started before swallowing. "If it was Kira, you probably would be dead right now, considering no criminals have been recorded of having a heart attack and actually living. Which probably means that it was just a bad coincidence. But…" His large pupils looked over at Light. "I can't be the only one who finds it strange that you had a heart attack, and tonight. Kira normally uses heart attacks for most of his kills, save a few of those experiments he did in the past. The fact that you were introduced to Light just today seems almost a little_ too_ perfect."

Light's eyes rolled. "I still don't understand why you are so set on the fact that I am Kira. I'm telling you, I'm not him."

"Hmm…" Ryuzaki took another spoonful of Jell-O.

"Hey, can I have some?" I asked.

He looked down at the cup and then back at me. "You can get have your own."

"That's what I meant. I don't want the rest of yours."

He nodded. "Alright, I'll be back." He opened the door and walked away. He pushed it shut, but I hand stopped it. The door opened again, and Misa slipped inside.

"Katsuki, you're okay!" She smiled and knelt on the floor beside me. "I'm so relieved. When I heard that you had a heart attack, I thought you weren't going to make it! I was so worried."

I put on a halfhearted smile. "I appreciate your concern, but really, I'm fine."

She giggled softly and took my hand in hers. "Well, we'll have to go shopping another time."

Just then, the door opened and Ryuzaki returned with an entire stack of Jell-O cups. He tossed me one, and kept the other five or six to himself. I was going to ask about that, but decided not to. At least he got me one.

"Oh, and here's a spoon." A plastic spoon was tossed to me.

I caught it and ripped the top off of the cup. "Thanks." I stuffed a huge chunk of Jell-O larger than the spoon itself into my mouth. "So," I said with a full mouth, not even bothering to be polite and have proper manners. "Tell me what happened."

"You were rushing down the stairs, about to tell me something, and then you tripped and fell, apparently having the heart attack right then and there." Ryuzaki said after swallowing down some more Jell-O. It was clear that the conversation was going to be a long one with the amount of Jell-O he and I were downing. "By the way, do you know what you had to say? It could be that you figured it out before your memory erased."

I paused in my Jell-O feat and stared hard at the cup with my lips pursed. After some time, I shook my head. "No, I can't remember the need to tell you anything."

"Hmm, oh well. By the tone of your voice, I could tell it was important, but I guess you must have figured it out before having the heart attack. You'll probably remember it or be able to figure it out again pretty soon. Maybe your memories will come back if you're lucky."

I nodded. "Yeah." I scraped the bottom of the cup with the plastic spoon, wishing there was more. I glanced up to ask for another, but they were all empty. Five cups were piled at Ryuzaki's feet, and one was in his hands. How could he eat that much so fast? I thought I was wolfing the Jell-O down. I apparently was a slower eater than I thought.

"Ryuzaki, you're going to get sick with all of that Jell-O." Misa commented when she noticed the empty cups.

He just stared at her with the spoon in his mouth, not even giving her a response. After some time, Misa decided to just act like nothing happened and start ranting on about how she felt when she was told I had a heart attack. I tuned her out, and I'm pretty sure everyone else did too. I think Light even dozed off for a moment.

When the doctor came in, Misa finally stopped talking, and I was thankful for the distraction.

"Miss Azuma, how are you feeling?" The doctor asked and fidgeted with his glasses.

"Great actually."

"Do you know what could have caused the heart attack?" Light asked.

"Well, you see, that's what we're all confused on. She's certainly not obese and her cholesterol is perfectly normal. And her blood pressure is fine, too." The doctor said as he scribbled something down on a paper pinned to a clipboard. "Katsuki, have you been feeling a large amount of stress lately?"

I shook my head. "No more than usual."

He pursed his lips and nodded while writing more down. "How is your diet? Do you eat enough fruits and veggies?"

I rolled my eyes at his condescending tone. "Yes."

"Do you smoke?"

I shot him a glare. "No."

He nodded again, barely acknowledging my threatening scowl. Jerk. "How about your parents? Where are they?"

I mentally winced, but I didn't even blink at the question. "They're dead."

He flinched. "What?"

"They're dead." I repeated. "Is it really that hard for you to understand? You'd think that with your super degree, and also with the fact that you're a _doctor_, you'd know a little bit about being dead." I shrugged. "But you never know."

He exhaled loudly through gritted teeth. "Miss Azuma, I can assure you that I know the meaning of being dead. But who is your legal guardian?"

_Crap_.

"I'm twenty-four." Ryuzaki said.

"But are you her official legal guardian? By the looks of it, Katsuki is only sixteen."

"Fifteen." I corrected.

The doctor looked over at me. "Miss Azuma, where is your legal guardian?"

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't know. I never got one."

He actually looked surprised. "So who watches over you?"

I groaned. "You're patronizing me. I can take care of myself." I folded my arms behind my head and stared up out the window. I really didn't want to have to explain this to a doctor. I'd rather be spending time trying to figure out what happened in that chunk of memory I lost. There must be some reason I lost it, and apparently L, Light, and Misa didn't know. The doctor was also clueless, and I doubt anybody else knew what happened, either. Just great. Splendid.

"Miss Azuma, you need to have a legal guardian. You aren't old enough to take care of yourself, no matter what you think." He sighed and adjusted his glasses. "I'll give you a little time to think, but you're going to have to go under the care of an authorized adult."

The doctor turned and started to walk away.

"That's alright, we'll take her in." L said nonchalantly while the spoon was still in his mouth. Maybe it tasted like the Jell-O?


	5. Chapter 5 - Surviving Kira

Chapter 5

I didn't know whether I should've hugged L or thrown something at him. The world's greatest detective as my legal guardian? That didn't sound quite right. If anything, I imagined being taken in by some druggie. Nope, it ended up being the complete opposite.

The doctor stopped and turned around. Slowly. He blinked at Ryuzaki and looked him up and down. "Pardon me for asking, but do you have a stable income? Enough to feed another person?"

Everybody in the room gave him the 'are you kidding me?' look, but nobody could actually say the real reason why. If Ryuzaki wanted the world to know he was the world's greatest detective, he would have already shown his face to the world.

"Yes." L replied.

The doctor shook his head slowly. "Sir, you aren't even wearing shoes. How can I possibly entrust you with a child?"

I huffed. "I'm not a child."

"Technically you are, Miss Azuma." The doctor pointed out. I just stuck out my tongue for a moment like the child I was.

"No, no, I just prefer to not wear shoes." L pulled out his cell phone and held just the very top of it as he held it to his ear. "Watari, please notify the court." He was silent for a moment before closing the phone. "Watari has it taken care of."

"Sorry, but who is Watari?"

"Just my assistant."

The doctor had a bewildered look on his face. Just yesterday I probably would also have been totally shocked to learn that a guy with Ryuzaki's appearance had his own assistant, but now I just expected him to have one.

"Uh… I'll be back." The doctor quickly excused himself and hurried out of the room. Not that I could blame him for wanting to get out. We were an odd bunch. You didn't see people like Ryuzaki every single day.

Misa giggled. "So, how about we go and grab Katsuki something to eat? This hospital food is disgusting from what I hear."

Light nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and it's not like she can survive off of those Jell-O cups." He and Misa started to walk out of the room, and he waved in a 'come here' motion. "Come on Ryuzaki."

Ryuzaki didn't even say a word as he left. I sighed contently and closed my eyes.

Bad idea. Because something fell from the ceiling and landed on my face just moments afterwards.

I nearly yelped in surprise. My eyes flew open and I swiped the thing off of my face. I almost threw it, but then I noticed an odd creature sitting at the foot of my bed.

I looked down at what I was holding. It read DEATH NOTE on the front. I wasn't sure which was weirder: The falling notebook from the ceiling or the thing on my bed.

But both objects seemed so oddly familiar. Death Note… that name rang in my head as I thought it, but I couldn't figure out where I had heard it from. Maybe I had heard it in a song or something. But I knew creatures like the thing at the foot of my bed weren't supposed to be domesticated and kept as pets. It looked more like a monster rather than an animal.

"Who are you?" I asked, flipping through the pages of the Death Note casually. All of the pages were empty.

"The name's Ryuk." It said in a hoarse voice. "Don't you remember things now?

I shook my head slowly and tried to act like I wasn't fazed by Ryuk's company.

He groaned. "Oh great, you really are one messed up girl. I can't believe I was the one to be assigned to you." He grumbled unhappily. "There better be a good amount of apples waiting for me when I finish this job."

I ignored him and continued to study the notebook. It was is pretty good condition with only a few cuts in the pages.

"Well?"

I glanced up from the notebook. "Were you expecting something?"

He laughed. "Last time I came to you, you freaked out. I thought the same thing might happen this time."

I raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but when did we meet?"

"Last night."

Now both of my eyebrows shot up. "I don't remember anything from that. Did you give me a heart attack or something? I mean, if you can just poof in here whenever you feel like it, that means you probably have some kind of powers."

His beady, olive colored eyes studied me, but none of his strange face showed any kind of emotion. "No, I wasn't the one who gave you a heart attack."

"Then why the hell are you here?" I asked, setting the Death Note down on the bed beside me. I had noticed a few rules a few moments before, but I'd have to read those later.

"I wanted to chat."

I rolled my eyes and readjusted myself so I was in a better sitting position. "What could you possibly want to 'chat' about?"

"You, and how you survived Kira."

I nearly reached up to pull my eyebrows back down. That's how high they were. "You mean Kira tried to kill me."

He didn't answer for a moment. "Yes, but you managed to survive, even though he wrote your name in a notebook similar to that one."

"But it's empty."

"That's because it's a different, unused one. You're not allowed to write in that one."

"Wait, you _know Kira?_ Who is he?"

He cackled. "You think I'll tell you?"

"Well, yeah, that'd be nice. And you look like a nice Ryuk."

"I'm not 'a Ryuk'. I'm Ryuk the Shinigami."

_Shinigami_. There it went again. That word was just so familiar, but where had I heard it from? I scavenged my brain so much that it started to hurt.

"Shinigami, as in God of Death?"

"Yes."

"Great." I pursed my lips. "So why do we need to chat if you're not going to tell me who Kira is?"

"Because I like to make things interesting. So I'm going to tell you why you lived."

I leaned back against the wall. "Alright, hit me with it. There's not much that's going to surprise me anymore."

"I believe that it might be that you are the reincarnate of a Shinigami. Or at least have part of a Shinigami in you."

I was wrong. There was a lot that could surprise me.

"What? Then how come I don't remember being a… Shinigami?"

His shoulders did a little shrug. "I don't know. I've never heard of it actually happening, but that's the only logical reason. Or it could be that Katsuki Azuma isn't your real name and you just had terrible timing to have a heart attack." He sighed loudly. "Shinigami can't be killed by the Death Note. Actually, there aren't many ways known to kill a Shinigami. Which means it could be that the Death Note activated on your more human part of life, but the Shinigami part couldn't die, which might have saved you from the Death Note."

He reached forwards with those scrawny long arms and plucked the Death Note off of the bed. "Now, I'm not obligated to explain any of this to you. But I think Kira could use a little more trouble than what he's given."

"Or you could just tell me who the heck Kira is, and then it would all be over and you and I could be pen pals."

He cackled again. "Not likely. Humans are just so interesting, and it would be a shame to put a stop to his fun."

I narrowed my eyes. "You're lucky I don't know how to kill you."

Another barking laughter came from his wicked smile that never faded. Was it just painted onto his face? "Well, that's all I wanted to say. I doubt we'll be seeing each other much." He stood up and then walked through the wall. On any other day, I probably would've flipped out in a mix of excitement and confusion. But today I was curious. So I stood up and tried to follow him, only to walk into the wall, not through it.

_Shinigami incarnate my ass._ I thought as I flopped back down onto the bed. Could I just go on believing that it wasn't Kira, and just really bad timing? And either way, how had Kira gotten a look at both my name and my face? I really should have used a fake name for my entire life, like L. I highly doubt that L was his real name, and instead just an abbreviation of some sort.

"Weeeeee'rrrreee baaaaaaaaacck!" Misa burst into the room and shoved an ice cream cone into my hand and sat down beside me.

"Oh, hey guys." Light and Ryuzaki followed Misa inside. Everybody had their own ice cream cone. L's was almost gone.

"Sorry that this isn't really filling, but they wouldn't allow us to bring you anything really amazing. They said that you shouldn't be eating too much, or at least not until they're sure that you're alright." Misa explained with an unhappy pout to her lips.

"That's alright. Thank you." I said.

By the time I was only a little ways into my ice cream, I looked up and saw L stuffing the remainder of the cone into his mouth. I almost felt ashamed for being a slower eater, and competitively started to heat my veins, but I put it past me.

A few minutes later, everybody was finished with their ice cream. And I really wanted out of the hospital room. I was never a girl who liked being cooped up in one place for long. But I doubt the doctors were going to let me out just yet, no matter how fine I felt.

"Hey Katsuki, you alright?" Light asked with a tilt of his head. "You're awfully quiet."

"Hmm? Oh, sorry. There's just nothing to talk about."

"Well here!" Misa dropped at least nine magazines on the bed beside me. "Look through these and circle anything you want, and then we'll buy them!" Misa handed me a red sharpie.

My cheeks warmed a little bit. "Uh, thank you Misa. But you don't have to buy me clothes."

She rolled her eyes. "Sheesh, quit being modest. It's the least I can do for a friend."

Friend? Since when did I consider her a friend? I'd never actually had much of a friend before, but that's because I was always doing things that I knew would influence others to do something reckless.

The door opened and the same doctor who loves to play with his glasses came inside. And then took off his glasses and rubbed them on his long white coat before putting them back on his head.

"Miss Azuma, you are free to go whenever you feel like it." He said before turning around and leaving.

I couldn't help but do a little woot. I stood up immediately and skipped out of the room with a large smile on my face. I passed by the doctor without a word, grinning happily to myself.

I beat Kira. Kira couldn't kill me thanks to whatever I was. The… the Shinigami part of me. I didn't know how much of me was Shinigami and how much was human, but apparently the reincarnated part was enough to save me from a fatal heart attack.

And to think I went my life believing I was just some kid on the streets. It's weird how life can take such sharp turns.

* * *

**Sorry for the boring chapter. It was mostly just information, but I promise the future chapters will have more to them. But there's always got to be parts that are a little boring in order to make the exciting parts better. Let me know what you think should happen, and maybe I'll use your idea (And give you credit, of course).**

**Thanks everybody for the kind reviews! It's really encouraging. I'm glad you find this story interesting. I promise that there's more to come. ^_^ **

**And just to clarify, since I'm a little worried people might get mixed up with Katsuki's character, she doesn't have Shinigami DNA in her (Since Shinigami don't… you know…) but instead part of a Shinigami's soul that she was given when she was a baby. This will be explained in further detail later on in the story, but for now I just wanted to make sure nobody was too confused. **

**~BurntPickle**


	6. Chapter 6 - Light's Outrage

Chapter 6

"Eighteen more victims." Matsuda whined as he sat down on the couch with a stack of papers. All files of those killed. If I hadn't had a part of a Shinigami in me, that number would be nineteen. It's kind of scary to think about, but at the same time I find it cool.

Mogi also came down the stairs that morning, yawning with a cup of coffee in his hands. He wasn't dressed in pajamas like I was, but instead a suit.

I wore some lime green pajama shorts and a black tank-top, both which Misa generously bought me, along with a bunch of other stuff that was now in a closet. My brunette hair was pulled back into a ponytail, though many stay hairs had already fallen out. Mostly because I was spinning so much on the rollie-chair. I had claimed it as my own, and let the others argue over the stationary, heavy chairs with plump cushions.

"Whee…" I tilted my head back and clung to the back of the chair so that my head was upside down. The world spun around in circles, making my dizzy to the core, but I didn't care. I had had too much coffee that morning. Two extra cups to be exact, none of them being decaf.

"Katsuki, are you feeling alright? Maybe not necessarily stomach-sickness wise, but maybe sanity wise?" Light asked. He didn't try to stop me from spinning, probably knowing I would've kicked him if he did.

"Yep, everything is great." I replied. It had been three days since I got out of the hospital, and everything was back to normal. I still hadn't gotten my memories back, and I got the feeling Light didn't like me so much anymore. I didn't have any idea what I did to him, but apparently we weren't friends. That was fine with me since I was never interested in being his friend anyway, but it did made me curious as to why he didn't seem to appreciate my company. "I'm perfect sane, F-Y-I."

"Aren't you about to throw up?" He asked.

I shook my head, which really only made my dizziness worse, and I doubted he could even see the movement. "Nope, I feel fine."

"Light, just ignore her, she had a little extra coffee, that's all." L said dismissively while he stared at a screen, reading something that I couldn't read because I was spinning. "By the way, Watari, make sure to make extra decaffeinated coffee next time. Soon we'll probably need her to be serious."

"Of course." An elderly voice responded. Whoever Watari was, I instantly knew he was in the room. I could look at him later, though. Too busy spinning. Around… and around… and around…

And then I saw him. No, not Watari. Ryuk.

My hands slipped from the chair and I fell, landing hard on my back. I winced and rolled over onto my stomach. But the world didn't stop spinning for quite a long time, so I just laid there waiting for everything to go back to normal.

"Katsuki?" L looked down at me from his squatted position on his chair in front of a bunch of screens.

I looked up. "Yes?"

"What are you doing?" He asked calmly.

I shrugged and looked back over at Ryuk. He was smiling. Or maybe not. It could be just that face that he wore that could never stop smiling. He didn't make any noises, but he was standing only a few feet away from Light. Light didn't seem to notice. Could he see Ryuk? I thought about when we met in the hospital, and how he showed up when the Death Note was dropped on my face. Do people have to touch that notebook to see him? That notebook was definitely the key to Kira's powers, or at least had something to do with it. If Kira wanted to write his future victim's names, he could've easily done it in a regular spiral notebook, which wouldn't be as suspicious as a notebook titled 'Death Note'.

I sat up and pressed the palm of my hand against my forehead. The dizziness took a few more seconds to wear off, but eventually the world stopped moving all around me and everything stilled.

I knew the very moment Light noticed that I was looking past him. His shoulders stiffened and his eyes shot to the side towards Ryuk. Then he looked back at me, a little confused.

"Is there something there, Katsuki?" Light asked, looking at the area around Ryuk.

"Uh… no… I was just spacing out." I answered quickly.

He lifted his eyebrows questioningly at me, but then dismissed it and appeared to move on.

"Katsuki, explain this to me: When you first heard about Kira and his killings of criminals, how did you feel?" L asked.

"Well… I guess I was pretty scared at first, but then I calmed down when I realized that I hadn't even been caught. I had always made sure to be sneaky about things so then the cops wouldn't be able to tag me for being any kind of criminal." I folded my legs crisscross-applesauce style and leaned back with my arms supporting me from behind. "But you said before that Watari did some kind of background check on me, which means that _somebody_ knew about me, and I certainly wasn't constantly updating some blog about my life. I don't know how someone could find out about me."

"I wouldn't be so certain, Miss." An elderly man, maybe in his seventies, said to me. He wore a nice suit, and had white hair smoothed back against his scalp. He also had a pair of thin glasses positioned on his head. He looked like that nice old man who feeds birds every day, just because he can. But he also had that mature look to him that sometimes even the oldest of people never got. "I happen to have many sources of many kinds. It wasn't just one source that supplied me all of the information."

"Hmm." Watari. That must have been him. He fit the profile I had in mind pretty well. "How many sources were there that you contacted?"

"Oh, plenty. Enough that you don't need to worry. They're not smart enough to try and fit the pieces together."

I narrowed my eyes slightly. He didn't give me an exact number like I had wanted. My lips twitched, but I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I'd regret. Instead I hugged my knees to my chest and realized that I was very fidgety today. I blamed the coffee immediately.

"Hey, Light, come take a look at this." Ryuzaki waved a hand to summon Light.

"What's up?" Light walked over and placed a hand on the back of L's chair and leaned forwards to get a better look at the screen.

"Take a look at all of these deaths."

Light's eyes narrowed as he studies a list on the screen. It appeared to be a name and a time of death all lined up in rows.

"Most of them occurred in the later hours, but that's the only connection I can draw." Light said. "And by the way, didn't you say there were only eighteen deaths? These are more than fifty."

"Yes. These aren't all just deaths that happened in the last two days. These are from the past two weeks." Ryuzaki took a sip of his coffee. "I couldn't help but notice you've been going to bed earlier these past two weeks."

A quick, subtle look of frustration crossed into Light's eyes, but disappeared just as fast as it came. "I've been needing the extra rest. With all of this happening around, and not to mention a bunch of big tests coming up in school pretty soon, I've been feeling a tad bit overworked." He scratched the back of his head, but I couldn't figure out if it was a nervous gesture or just an itch.

"Uh-huh…"

"Ryuzaki, I think it's gotten to the point where you're just searching for reasons to think I'm Kira." Light shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm _not Kira_?"

L sighed. "You can say what you wish, but that doesn't mean I'm going to believe you. I'll have you know that my suspicions on you have become greater."

Light let out an even louder sigh than L's, but this one almost sounded like a hiss. He straightened his back. "You can think whatever you want, but you're wrong, Ryuzaki. I'm not Kira. I never have been. You're just too stubborn to realize this." With that, Light turned and stormed out of the building. It would've been better if he could've slammed the doors shut, but those doors slid open instead. What a shame…

"Is it just me, or did he sound really pissed off?" I muttered. "Because from what I've seen, he's the guy to normally keep his cool."

Matsuda had watched the entire thing with large eyes. "Uh, Ryuzaki? Maybe you should go easy on Light. I mean, clearly he's not Kira. There's no way a guy like him would do something like that. I think with the pressure you're putting on him, it's really starting to affect him."

L looked over his shoulder and stared at Matsuda. "And that's exactly what I'm trying to do. Matsuda, you may be quite an idiot," Matsuda winced at the comment. "But even you know that when angered, people say a lot of things that they usually shouldn't, and they do so without even thinking. By pressuring Light and stressing him to a certain point, he'd either eventually crack, breakdown, and hopefully admit the crime, or he's crack, throw a table, and say a few words but nothing that hinted at him being Kira."

"Wait, you're doing this on purpose?" I looked up at L. "That's a little inhumane, even for you." I drummed my fingers against the floor.

"Yes, but this is Light we're talking about. The guy with the same deductive skills that I have. That makes him harder to outsmart, but easier to predict." He went back to staring at the screen.

I stood up and walked over to pick up a few sheets of paper. I compared them to one another, but any noticeable combinations, other than the fact that they were all criminals, didn't stand out to me.

When I looked up again, I realized that Ryuk was gone. It's odd that Light left and so did he. No, those two don't work together, do they? Maybe Ryuk was just curious about Light and wanted to eavesdrop on Light's anger. Yeah, that's it. Definitely.

I set the papers down back on the table where they had been and sighed. I was torn in half. No, not literally. Part of me was like L: I couldn't stop thinking that Light was Kira, even though there wasn't sufficient evidence anywhere. The other part was praying that it wasn't Light. Because that would mean that Light was the one to give me the heart attack, and he would remember all of it.

I couldn't help but remember that subtle relieved look he got when I said I couldn't remember anything from that night. Why would he be relieved? Usually when someone forgets their memories, everybody is pretty sad. But nope, Light was basically the opposite, and that was troublesome.

My eyes flicked over to where Ryuzaki sat with his back to me. I had this feeling that Ryuzaki was also torn between the same things, but for different reasons. He had mentioned that Light was his friend-slash-coworker who he suspected was Kira. I didn't know from personal experience, but I started to think that Ryuzaki didn't want his friend to be Kira. Who would? But also, I suspected that L also wanted Light to be Kira. Maybe to prove to everyone that he was right, or maybe just to stop Kira from killing so many people.

Matsuda's phone suddenly rang. He looked down and dug his cell out of his pocket, flipped it open, and put it to his ear. "Uh, hello?" He paused and stared straight forwards. "Light? What's wrong?" Everybody turned to face him, including me. "Yeah sure, we'll be right there." He hung up the phone and stuffed it back away.

"What's up?" I asked, perching down on the arm rest of the couch with my eyes studying him intently.

"Light's apparently in big trouble. He said something about how he was being followed by a bunch of guys." Matsuda explained.

L groaned. "This is why you don't let yourself get angry. You do stupid stuff, like going outside."


	7. Chapter 7 - The Rescue

Chapter 7

We all piled into one van. Yes, one. Friggin'_._ Van_. _Watari drove, L rode shotgun, and I was smooshed in between Misa and Matsuda, and Mogi and the chief were both in the back. I was about to ask the chief if he wanted to switch me, but then Watari floored in, and my face was slammed into the leather of the seat.

"Matsuda, did he say where he was?" Ryuzaki asked.

I pulled my face out of the leather, no matter how surprisingly soft it was, and faced the front like a good girl.

"He said that he was around the supermarket, but he didn't say what street or if he was inside or outside."

Ryuzaki's voice lowered to a mumble. "Light, what is up with you? You're never this stupid."

I rode in silence with my arms tucked onto my lap and my knees pressed together. Oh, and my lips were pursed also. Not that it made any difference, but it made me feel more compact. Like a box and bubble wrap. It doesn't make much of a difference if a little piece of the bubble wrap sticks out of the corner of the box, but for some reason you'll never die happily until you fix it.

Every time the van made a turn, one of the people beside me would lean into me, forcing me to lean into the other person. We were like a bunch of dominoes.

Suddenly the van came to an abrupt stop. The seat belt choked me when I rocket forwards, and there was no seat in front of me to soften the blow. Nope, but instead there was just the rope – I mean – _seatbelt,_ that held me back. I coughed and straightened and rubbed my neck where it had hurt the most.

"Do you see him?" Matsuda asked, struggling to look around like a puppy.

"No, but this is where the supermarket is." L said before climbing out. The van doors opened, I unbuckled, and practically flung myself out of the seat. I rolled my shoulders and shut the van door after Mogi and the chief got out.

I glanced over at the doors of the supermarket. Still shattered. It's been a few days even since a crashed through those. I wondered what was taking them so long to replace them. Is it that they wanted to keep a memory of me, their favorite customer? I was touched at the slight (aka never possible) thought.

"Why would Light head down towards the supermarket?" I asked out loud.

"Good question. Light has never stormed off in such a way, but then again, he _is_ a teenager. Hormones and all."

I did a little sigh/growl and rolled my eyes. "Forgive us teens for being so 'moody'."

"He may be a teenager and all, being seventeen, but I'm his father, and I've never seen him lose his temper in such a way." Mr. Yagami walked up from behind and stood beside L.

"Hmm." I looked around. "We should probably split up so we can cover more ground. He could be anywhere by now."

"Yes, but remember that Light isn't trying to run away from us, because he wouldn't call if he didn't want to see us. Unless Light decided to lure us all into some kind of trap of some sort, but that doesn't seem like Light at all."

"True, but Light does seem to be PMSing today. He could be way out of it for all we know." I shrugged. "Alright, I'll go this way, you all do whatever you detectives have to do." I waved a hand dismissively and jogged away from them.

I got the feeling that I shouldn't have said 'detectives' so freely, for someone could have been around, but with a quick sweep of the area, it was clear that nobody was around unless they were watching us from the shadows. And I really didn't want to think that as I crossed the street towards the alley I took when I was stealing the apple.

As I entered the alley, my shoes crunched little pieces of glass that were the remains of the doors. I continued to walk. "Light? You down here?"

I was about halfway through the alley when I heard footsteps behind me.

_Oh God…_

I started to veer to the side. I walked beside one of the buildings. My eyes focused on the top of a trashcan that was rested against the wall. No trashcan in sight, just the top.

"Well, well, look who's here." A voice purred from behind me. "Does the little boy have to be saved by his girlfriend?"

I stopped and clenched my hands into tight fists. Girlfriend? No way. Light's not my type.

I chuckled and turned on a heel, a smirk on my face. "Don't go jumping to conclusions. I'm just a friend."

The alley shadowed his entire body, but he had a large build and was extremely tall. Like, six-foot-three tall. But I knew I couldn't let any kind of fear show through, or that would be the end of me.

In his arms he dangled a limp body, which I could safely assume was Light. Okay, it was now official. Light's day sucked Shinigami butt.

I glanced past him, but nobody was at the end of the alley. That was good and bad. Nobody was going to help out Light's attacker, but nobody was going to help me, either.

He let out a low chuckle and dropped Light's body onto the ground, letting him fall into just a motionless lump.

"Tell me something; what are you gaining from this?" I asked with a tilt of my head.

"Pleasure of course."

"Really? This doesn't seem all that amusing to me. More like a chore."

He laughed again, this time louder. "You and I clearly have different interests."

"Maybe so, but what guy wakes up in the morning and thinks 'Man, I can't wait to knock somebody out today. It's going to be so. Much. Fun!'"

He snorted. "I do."

"Oh. Well then…" I fell silent for a moment, trying to decide if I should continue talking. Of course, I didn't listen to the little voice in the back of my head that was screaming at me to shut up because I said something stupid. "You need a different hobby."

"Whatever. On a different note, what's a girl like you doing with a guy like him? He looks like a total genius and you look like…" I knew he was looking me up and down, despite the lack of lighting. "Average."

I narrowed my eyes. "That's not nice. Never judge a book by its cover. Besides, who needs brains when you can just beat the living shit out of everybody?"

He barked out another laugh. "Yeah right, like a pathetic girl like you could ever even bruise a guy like me."

"Hey, again, not nice!"

He snickered. "It's only the truth. It's natural that guys are stronger than girls. You girls are just so weak and useless. You're only good for-" He didn't have time to finish his sentence. I had already thrown the lid of the trashcan at him like a Frisbee, and it smashed right into his face, right in the dead center of his eyes.

He yowled and stumbled backwards, clutching his face. "Dammit…" He muttered through gritted teeth as he straightened. "You're going to pay for that one, bitch."

"Ha! I'd like to see you try to even land a finger on me." I taunted, but I knew I was so totally screwed. I couldn't reach the lid of the trashcan as easily as I would've liked to, and there was nothing really useful around except for boxes. Maybe I could curl up and hide my head inside one of the empty boxes and pray the 'I can't see you, you can't see me' rule actually was real.

He took my taunt seriously and charged forwards with his fist raised above his head.

I didn't have much of a choice but to lunge forwards and tackle him around the waist. I think we were both surprised whenever I shoved him down to the ground. But I didn't let my surprise give him time to attack. Nor did I think at all. I just slammed my fist down into his jaw multiple times until I heard the satisfying _crack_ that I was looking for.

He struggled beneath me. His hands reached around him, trying to fight back, but he was helpless.

Or, that is, until I was plucked off of him. Someone had grabbed the back of my shirt, and before I realized it, I was flying through the air. My back smashed into a brick wall. Pain exploded all over, and I let out a weak whimper before sinking to the ground in a feeble ball.

"Thanks man." The guy said. I opened my eyes and watched as he clasped hands with another guy who helped him to his feet. Light still laid motionless on the floor. It made me wonder if he was dead or not.

"No prob." The new guy said. "Who's the bitch?"

"Dunno. Apparently knows this guy." The first guy kicked Light in the side with the toe of his shoe.

My entire body throbbed. It was like a headache… but everywhere. It hurt to keep my eyes open, but I couldn't just shut them and give in. Light may have been a royal pain today, but that didn't mean he should've been killed by a bunch of thugs on the street.

I rose to my feet slowly, but surely. I used the wall to support me on my way up. Both of the guys had their eyes focused on me. There was just a little bit of light now, thanks to the sun coming out from behind a dark and dense cloud, but it wasn't enough for me to recognize their faces if I could've possibly known them. Their voiced weren't familiar, so I probably didn't know them.

"The fuck?" The newer guy spat out. "That should've knocked her out."

The other guy groaned. "That chick has too much confidence. Let's just knock her out and take them both back."

I laughed. "Take me where? I'm not really interested in you guys, sorry." My chin lifted, and I eyed them with a cool smirk that no doubt added more confidence into my eyes, even though they said I had too much. There's nothing wrong with having too much confidence, right? At least not right then.

They both laughed, but the newer guy was the one to answer. "That doesn't really have to matter, does it?"

"Well considering I'm fighting the urge to do a happy fist dance on your ugly face, it kind of does."

That seemed to piss him off. I didn't know it I was lying or not. He could've been a totally lean, masculine, gorgeous guy for all I know.

"Come at me then. Show me how tough you are."

"I prefer to not make the first move."

One of the two sneered, but I couldn't tell which.

"Alright then, have it your way." The first one said.

I didn't see the lid of the trashcan lid flying at me for a few seconds. And when I did, I just barely managed to throw my hand up and have it hit me in the arm rather than the mouth. It hurt like hell, but it was better than losing six teeth.

The metal top clattered to the ground. Pain burned all over my arm, and I knew it was going to be one ugly bruise. That ticked me off. So what did I do? I picked it up, ran forwards, and brought it down on one of their heads before they could stop me. His head left a dent in the top, but he dropped to the ground. Then I swung it around and shoved it into the other guy's gut. He doubled over and I pull my knee up and hit him on the chin, but at the same time banged him on the head with the top. He also dropped.

I backed up and dropped the top, watching the two. Their bodies twitched around, but slowly they lifted themselves up off the ground. Apparently none of us know how to just stop fighting and run away.

Where the heck were the others? Could they not hear the sounds of the lid banging against thick skulls? I really was trying to make a racket so maybe I could at least get some backup or _something_. But _noooo_. Maybe my idea splitting up wasn't as great as I thought it would be.

I glanced over at where Light was still knocked out cold. What did they do to him, beat him over the head with a baseball bat? Or maybe he was just a bigger wimp that I assumed him to be.

I looked back just in time to watch one of the guys springing forwards. His arms wrapped around me legs and took me down. I landed hard on the concrete ground, and winced as I did so. And then I did the most ungraceful thing I could've and smacked him upside the head while saying a bunch of weird, inaudible crap.

As I was throwing a tantrum, the guy was trying to pin my wrists to the ground, but I kept managing to rip my arms free and smack him again. His buddy seemed to be amused by how childish my defensive fighting was.

And then I heard a groan. I looked over to see Light rolling over onto his stomach.

_Wake up, idiot! Now!_

"Katsuki! Light!" I heard the chief's voice echo down the alley. Relief flooding into me faster than when an overflowing dam crumbles.

* * *

**Woot, fight scene! I got tired of just writing a bunch of informal chapters, so I gave us all a break and made it a little more exciting.  
**

**Again, thanks so much for all of the kind reviews and encouragements. Without you guys I probably wouldn't be writing so much ^_^ Seven chapters in three days is quite a lot in my opinion. And this chapter was pretty long compared to the others. I can't say they're all going to be do long, but I have noticed the number of words in each chapter is growing. It was hard for me to find a stopping point in this chapter.  
**

**I tried to make Kat a little funnier in this chapter. And the fight isn't over yet, there's still more to come from it!  
**

**Also, just thought I'd say this: I'm not going to be going off of the episodes on Death Note, but instead I'll be coming up with my own scenes, like this one! So then it's not as predictable ;)**

**~BurntPickle**


	8. Chapter 8 - Winning the Fight

Chapter 8

"Dammit…" One guy who I wasn't in the middle of attacking grumbled. I couldn't help but smirk.

"Looks like you lose." I cheered in a sing-song voice.

The guy pinning me chuckled. "Oh no it isn't. We just didn't want to have to call our friends."

_Are your friends part of a highly trained task force? Didn't think so._

"Dude, call 'em. Tell 'em to get here and fast." One said.

The other nodded. I'm just going to call him Two. Two was the guy standing, and One was the guy pinning me. Two pulled out his phone and put it up to his ear, muttered a few words, and then hung up, all before Mr. Yagami could get down to us. I didn't have time to see the others before I decided to take advantage of the distraction that took One's attention.

I kicked my foot up and nailed him in the chest, sending him sputtering backwards. He grunted as he fell back on his butt. I swiftly leaped forwards after that with my arms outstretched towards One, and as soon as my hands made contact with his shoulders he was on the ground. I tucked my legs under me and landed on his chest, but continued forwards before he could grab my ankles. I tucked myself into a ball and summersaulted to a stop. Then I stood to my feet and turned around to face Light's dad who was drawing his gun.

"What the hell took you so long?"

I was wrong to turn. Because as soon as I did, Two was behind me, jamming his fist into the small of my back. Hard. I yelped and my knees gave out, making me fall backwards towards the ground. But Two wrapped an arm around my waist and held me up, but also put a gun up against my head.

Two snickered. "What're you gonna do, old man? If you shoot me, my friends will only kill all three of you. They're on their way."

Mr. Yagami kept on looking over at his son, who was just beginning to regain consciousness. I could see the worry and fear in his eyes. I would be pretty scared too if someone I loved was hurt. But there was just one problem: I didn't love anybody, so I couldn't feel that way.

"What is it you guys want?" The chief asked in a dangerously low tone of voice.

One and Two exchanged looks for a brief moment. "What do you got?" One asked in a sly voice.

The chief raised his gun and pointed it at One. "Leave here."

Two sneered. "What're you gonna do, old man? Lecture us to death? Tell us your old stories until we decide to leave?" The gun was pressed further into my temple. If he bruised me, I was so going to be pissed…

I heard more footsteps, and with a quick flick of my eyes, I saw three more guys standing there, all dressed in black. I guess they would be Three, Four, and Five.

Light's dad was tense, but he didn't chicken out.

"Seems how you refuse to let them go, you give me no choice but to-" Mr. Yagami started, but he was cut off by the sounds of a gunshot. Nobody expected it, but the bullet flew past the chief and hit Two straight in the forehead. Right next to me.

I yelped as he dragged me down with him. I landed on my shoulder and quickly rolled away before anyone else could grab me.

Whoever fired the gun wasn't in my line of sight yet, but if they had meant to shoot me and were actually Two's friend… Well that would really suck for them.

Two was definitely dead. Nobody normal could survive a bullet to the brain.

I picked up the gun that Two had held to my head. It was heavier than I imagined, but the weight was almost comforting. Well, it would've been if I had known how to use it. But hey, the enemy wouldn't know the difference until I tried to pull the trigger, right?

The other guys just sort of stood there in shock. They didn't run away or draw weapons to fight. They just stood.

I followed their frightened gazes. Watari had a gun in his hands, and even though he was old, he looked quite badass.

He lowered the gun and wore a small smile. "It's probably best if the four of you leave now."

One nodded. "Yeah… Come on guys…" He said nervously. His eyes looked over at me, but I just lifted a hand and flipped him off. He tensed but turned and left with his buddies.

Mr. Yagami let out a relieved sigh and fell to his knees beside Light. "Thank you, Watari."

"Yes, thank you." I said, rubbing my back with a hand. My back was going to be killing me tomorrow. I can already see it being black and blue for a week.

Watari nodded. "It was my pleasure."

I almost choked on the air I was breathing. It was a pleasure to kill that guy? Jeez, maybe I underestimated him. By a lot.

"Do we need to call an ambulance?" Watari asked.

The chief looked his son over. "It's probably best if we do, just in case. Katsuki, did you see anything happen to him?" He looked over his shoulder at me.

I shook my head. "No, I didn't. Sorry. He was already unconscious when I got here."

He nodded slowly, clearly looking disappointed in himself. I wanted to say something nice, but I couldn't think of anything right to say. That everything was okay? That wasn't going to make him feel better at all. He was a parent whose child was just jumped. Saying things were 'okay' wasn't going to help at all.

"It wasn't your fault. You know that." The world slipped out of my mouth before I could bite my tongue.

"I know." He said grimly. "But I can't help but feel like I've failed my son."

I stood up (And nearly grumbled to the ground right after that) and slowly made my way over to him. "You didn't fail him. If you hadn't shown up when you did, Light definitely would've died. It's because you were there to stop them from shooting both Light and me that we're both alive."

"You're giving the credit to the wrong guy. Watari shot him down."

"That's not true. Watari didn't get here when you did. I couldn't fight them both off on my own. When you showed up, I don't think you felt it, but the air kind of… shifted, I guess. They knew that things weren't going to be as easy as they wanted them to be."

He didn't say anything else after that. I wasn't going to push him.

"Light!" Matsuda came running. He got on the opposite side of the chief and crouched next to Light.

Light's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Wh-what happened?"

Mr. Yagami sighed in relief. "Thank God."

* * *

I laid on my bed, my face slammed into a pillow. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking about everything. Light being jumped, me having a heart attack, surviving that because I had Shinigami in me… ugh…

I rolled onto my back. The slight motion hurt, but I had gotten used to the sudden pains, and quickly learned to deal with them. I sighed and stared up at the blank ceiling. Was I really a Shinigami incarnate? I didn't really want to be, but at least I didn't look at butt-ugly as Ryuk. Were all Shinigami weird looking like that, or was he just dealt a bad face?

I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts, but they kept coming back.

What did it mean? Like, was I super strong or something? Or immortal. I didn't want to be immortal. Even though it'd be nice and I'd be harder to kill, I didn't want to have to live forever young while everyone around me grew old, shriveled up, and died.

"Pst… Katsuki…" Someone whispered to me.

I shot up in bed, despite the pain, and hurled a pillow at whoever was across the room from me. But then the pillow… it went through them.

"Hey, it's just me!" Ryuk barked.

"Shush!" I snapped in a whisper.

"Nobody can hear me, just you. You're the one who should shush!"

I rolled my eyes. "What do you want?"

"I'm bored."

I groaned. "Then go find someone else to entertain you. I'm trying to sleep."

His eyes weren't actually focusing on me, but instead a shiny red object on the nightstand. I stared at the red apple, and then looked at him. I could've sworn he was drooling.

I picked up the apple and threw it at him. He caught it with a hand, even though I assumed it was going to go through him, and then he finished the entire thing in three bites. I was pretty impressed, but I made myself keep my eyebrows at a low level.

"There, now go raid an apple orchard, or _something_. Just go away."

"Fine, but I guess you won't get to hear the new information I found out." He turned and started to walk away.

"Wait!" I said as he was entering the wall.

He looked back.

"What new information?"

"You aren't a full incarnation of a Shinigami."

"Okay, great. What does that mean?"

"You have only half of the soul of a Shinigami in you. The other half belongs to someone else."

"Don't tell me this is going to be some crazy quest to find the other half."

"No, no, it's not really all that important. Sure, I get the Shinigami's soul would appreciate being whole again, but I doubt it makes any difference if it is or not."

"Awesome. Anything else?"

"I heard that you also obtain some of the powers of the Shinigami, but there's no way of knowing which ones."

I blinked slowly. "What kinds of powers are there?"

"Oh, you know, the basic things. Like being able to materialize whenever we please. You know, we can kill people with our Death Notes as we please, and we can see people's names and lifespans just by looking at their face. Oh, and we can fly, too." Ryuk extended a pair of black, wannabe feathered wings.

"That's it?"

"Well, yeah, mostly. When we kill someone with our Death Notes, their lifespan is transferred to ours, so technically a Shinigami can live forever."

"Is that what's happening with Kira? Will he not die naturally?"

"No. Unlike you, Kira is just a pathetic human with an incredible mind. No superpowers there."

I raised an eyebrow. "Okay… if I do have these any of powers, how will I ever know?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. I guess you'll just… figure it out."

I rolled my eyes and breathed out a sigh. "So other than being my source of information, you're basically useless."

"Hey, that's not true!"

"Oh really? Do you beg to differ?" I narrowed my gaze at the insulted Shinigami. "What have you ever done that's helped? Like, where we you when Light and I were getting our asses handed to us?"

He didn't respond. _Struck a God of Death speechless. One point for me._

* * *

**Okay, so it's been a while seen I've posted a chapter. I'm extremely sorry for that. Writer's block hit me halfway through, and then I just sort of gave up for a day and let myself have a little unplanned hiatus. Yeah, I know, this chapter is shorter than I would've liked and the second half kinda sucks, but I just couldn't think of anything. The right words wouldn't come to me, and the desire the write was just sorta... gone. I guess you could call it Writer's Depression, but at the same time not. Oh well, whatever, I'll be working on chapter 9 and then I'll post it ASAP.  
Have a happy Independence day all you American readers! And for all of you others, just have a wonderful day, okay? Thanks so much for reading, I really didn't think I'd get so many views yesterday when I didn't even post, but I got more than fifty, which for me is pretty good.  
**


	9. Chapter 9 - Rediscovering Kira

Chapter 9

So… they ended up banning me from caffeinated coffee. Said something along the lines of 'if you're going to be working with us, you need to be serious'. I didn't agree, but nobody else was on my side. Not even Misa, who was next to useless to helping solve the case. Even though she was the only other girl here and we considered each other as friends, she was only here because Light loved her and she was suspected of being the second Kira.

And since they took coffee away from me, I decided to get back at them by being a total grouchy bitch until they give me what I wanted.

"Katsuki, please get off the floor. You and Light need to go." Ryuzaki looked down at me as he slouched in front of me.

I looked up with a deadly glare. "I don't want to go to school."

I hadn't been to school in a month. But apparently I had been transferred to Light's smart-people school and was expected to go and learn. Again, nobody was on my side when I said I didn't need to go.

"It's required that you go to school. And as your legal guardian, you do as I say."

I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. Somewhere in the past two weeks, they somehow got approval for L and Watari to become my legal guardians. I wasn't informed of it becoming official, but I pretended like I knew. "Sounds to me like you're being domineering. That so called 'requirement' is just a suggestion."

"No Katsuki, it really isn't." Light strolled down the stairs and fixed his tie as he did so. "You have to go."

I groaned. "I'm going to fail. I don't belong at a smart school like yours, Light. I can't even remember the Pythagorean Theorem."

"Well, you seem to be able to remember that it's theo_rem_, not theo_ry. _That's one step." Light pointed out.

I stuck out my tongue into the air. "Yes, because that's really going to matter in the future. I'll be talking with the ruler of the world, and while he's babbling on about justice and all that jazz, I'll start screaming 'it's Pythagorean _Theorem_, not _theory_! Remember that, bitch!' and it won't even have anything to do with the conversation."

I would expected a little chuckle, or something to come out of Light, but instead he just had that day-dreamy look. Ryuzaki noticed too, because we were both staring at him.

"Uh, Light?" Ryuzaki asked. "Is everything okay?"

A wicked smile tugged at Light's lips, but then he blinked a few times and wiped his smile off, replacing it with a smooth poker face. "Yeah, sorry."

Though clearly suspicious of Light's behavior, Ryuzaki just shrugged. "Alright. You two have twenty minutes until the bell. I'll have Watari drive you so you have a little time to show her the campus."

"That's alright, Ryuzaki. We'll walk." Light said as he poured himself a cup of coffee. I stared at the steaming liquid enviously. "It's not far at all."

"Oh, okay." Ryuzaki said before taking his position on his chair with his knees up against his chest. "Then you two should get going."

"Alright, let me grab my things and we'll get going. Ready, Katsuki?" Light asked.

I simply drummed my fingers against the floor. "I'm not going. I hope you realize that. I'm stubborn as a mule."

"I've noticed." Light said, but he didn't sound like he was humored at all. "Just come on, Kat. I don't want to be late."

"And I don't want to go. But look at me, getting up because I don't want to hear you whine to me anymore." I snatched a pencil off of the table and walked towards the door. "Now let's go and get this over with."

* * *

By the end up the class, my eye was twitching, my head was throbbing, and I was ready to complain the entire way home. Since I couldn't understand a single thing the instructor covered, I had decided to just space out and make a list of reasons why I need to drop down three grades.

Oh, and Ryuk decided to hang out in class too. Either he was the class pet, or nobody else but I could see him. He was doing a bunch of funky crap the entire time. Occasionally I had to bite my cheek to keep from laughing. He basically drooled over the professor's apple. And he was constantly dancing around in the front of the classroom. It was like he was _trying_ to distract me.

I was about to leave the classroom, when the professor stopped me. "Oh, Katsuki, hold on a moment please."

I froze and let everyone else swim around me into the hall. Slowly I turned around. "What's up?"

"Do you understand everything? Many times I glanced over and you looked lost."

No. I didn't understand a single thing. But was my pride and ego going to let me admit it? Abso-fucking-lutely not.

"Yeah, of course. It's really easy."

He didn't looked convinced, but nodded and picked up a folded. "I guess we'll see tomorrow when I grade your homework."

I put on a fake smile and then turned and darted out of the classroom. I couldn't have gotten out of there faster. In fact, I was waiting for Light by the doors that led outside of the school for an entire minute before he even got there.

"There you are." He said and moved past me through the door. "How did you do?"

"What do you mean 'how did I do'? I didn't understand a single word he said. Like, what the heck does fustilugs mean? And why did he tell us a story using it?" I followed him out of the door and out onto the campus. The sun beamed down at me, warming every inch of exposed skin. It was hot out, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

Light chuckled. "Fustilugs basically means a morbidly obese woman. He was telling stories about subways, and he tends to describe people with words that not many people know."

"And reason why?"

He shrugged. "His excuse is that he's suspicious that the government might listen in to his classes, so he uses larger, more uncommon words to try and trick them up."

"Oh, so he's just a paranoid freak. Now it makes a little bit of sense."

"I wouldn't say _paranoid._ More like overly cautious."

"Mm, I disagree."

"Hey Light!" A girl came running up, looking no older than seventeen. She had pretty black hair and cute brown eyes. She was quite a nice looking girl.

"Oh, hi Yuri." Light said, stopping. I came to a stop beside him.

Yuri looked at me and tilted her head. "Is this your girlfriend?"

"No!" I answered quickly before Light could even say I word. "I mean, no. We're just friends."

"Yeah. I was showing her around campus earlier today. It's her first day."

"Oh! Well, welcome. If you ever need any help with homework or you have boy troubles, just come find me." She smiled. "Anyway, Light, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Are you… available this Saturday? I know last time, our trip to Spaceland didn't go so well thanks to what happened on the bus, but maybe this time it'll go better."

Spaceland? Since when did they go there? Did they used to date? And _hey_! Light, remember Misa? Your girlfriend? Or is he cheating on her? He wouldn't just openly accept a date right in front of me when I knew he was dating Misa.

"Yeah, sure, I'd love to accompany you." Light said with a smile.

I stand corrected. What a brave, stupid guy he was. He may have been incredibly smart in school and had perfect deductive skills, but he wasn't very smooth with keeping up with a lie.

She giggled. "Awesome! I'll see you then." She turned and walked away, but there was a little bit of relief in her step. It was so obvious.

We walked in silence for about five minutes on our trip back to the Kira Investigation Headquarters, or whatever they called it. But I was about to explode every step I took. I knew that Light knew how I felt, also.

Finally, after coming close to dying from simple anger, I let it loose.

"Light, what are you thinking? Does Misa know about this? Wait, never mind, don't answer that. Of course she doesn't know! If she knew she wouldn't claim to love you so much, knowing your heart and soul isn't just with her. How could you do that? Are you a bigger idiot than I thought you were?"

"Shut up, Katsuki. It's bad enough I have to put up with you on a regular daily basis. I don't need you telling me how to live my life."

My jaw dropped open. That was _so_ not like Light. He'd been out of it for a while, now. I don't think I was the only one who noticed. He wasn't trying very hard to hide his anger. Ever since the heart attack, he'd been getting pissier and pissier by the day.

He sighed. "Sorry, but I'm going through a lot of stress right now."

"Yeah, I can tell. But sorry isn't what I'm looking for, nor should I be the one you need to be apologizing to. Imagine how much hurt Misa is going to feel when she finds out!"

"Which is exactly why she won't ever find out."

"Oh really? What's stopping me from telling her? There's nothing in it for me to keep your little secret."

His burning eyes met mine. Yep, he was ticked. "If you tell her… I will find a way to kill you."

I flinched. What did he mean by 'find a way'? Did he know I wasn't fully human or something? But how could he have ever figured it out? That's impossible unless he had information from Ryuk or something, and clearly he didn't notice Ryuk in class. Then again, Light did have the master poker face.

"Light, can I ask you a question?"

"No."

I didn't even bat an eyelash. "Have you ever heard of Ryuk?"

He was silent for a long period of time. But then he answered, "Yes."

My heart stopped for a moment. "How do you know him?"

"I just do."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh come on."

He sighed through his nose and closed his eyes. Then he lowered his voice to a very quiet whisper and said, "I know him because… I am Kira."

* * *

**Ugh, another short chapter.**** I hate writing short chapters because I feel like it's not enough. But oh well, I'll get back to writing longer ones here soon.  
**

**So, hooray for another chapter on the same day! Writer's block is now gone (Thankfully) and I'm back in action. I already have plans for the next chapter, and that's why I cut this one a little shorter. I could've gone on another thousand words, but I didn't want to ruin your eyes. Heh, heh, heh...  
**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! If you have any tips to improve my writing, I'd love to hear it. :) We're getting to the good part of the story. I can't wait to write it!**


	10. Chapter 10 - Another Battle

Chapter 10

That's when shit hit the fan.

I didn't even give him a moment to explain himself. I just flat out punched him. Right in the jaw. Yes, I knew he was Kira. Did it look like I gave a damn?

Apparently I punched him pretty hard, because he fell against the building closest to him and then spit blood out. Why did he spitting out blood look so familiar?

"What are you thinking?! In what part of your messed up head does killing sound right?!"

"Keep your voice down." He hissed. "You may have Shinigami in you, but that doesn't mean you can't feel pain. I'm not afraid to attempt to kill you again."

I laughed humorlessly. "Yeah, that's the way to not seem suspicious. You're making it way too easy for L to figure you out. You already tried to kill me on the first night. By killing me on the first day of school just makes it so obvious." I huffed. "I would've thought that Kira would've been smarter and made his moves more cautiously. But you know, not everyone can mold to the stereotypes."

Light wipes his mouth with the back of his hand and pulled himself away from the wall. "You know, I haven't forgotten the reason why I tried to kill you."

"Because I stole a few meals? Yeah, because of that I totally deserve a heart attack." I said sarcastically.

His jaw was already bruising from where I punched him. _Have fun trying to explain that, Kira._

He then launched himself at me. At first I was surprised he'd do such a thing in public, but then I realized nobody was around. I angled myself to kick but he tackled me to the ground before that could happen. I gritted my teeth together and tried my best to endure the burning feeling on my bruised back.

"You better promise not to tell a single soul, or else I'll just have to cut out your tongue so you _can't_ tell anyone." From his pocket he dug out a nice and shiny knife. Sunlight glinted across the smooth blade as he put it up against my neck. "Do you promise me?"

I narrowed my eyes and clamped my mouth shut. No way was he going to cut out _my_ tongue. It would be the death of him.

I drew my fist back and planted another punch on his eye. He recoiled and clutched his eye. Blood pooled out of his hand and dripped onto the sidewalk. With his other eye he glared at me with a look that could possibly kill Hades.

"You know, this would be much easier if you just cooperated." He snarled.

"We both know that's not happening, Light. If I cooperated all hell would be contained. And that's just no fun."

A deadly smile transformed his thin lips. "True, but it would save you a lot of pain and suffering."

"Would it? Where's your Death Note? What can you possibly do to me? After living for years on the streets, I've learned how to fend for myself. However, you have no fighting experience. You're just some nerd."

He scowled. "I don't need to be able to fight when I'm Kira."

An airy cackled came from above us. "Well this is getting quite interesting."

Both Light and I looked up to see Ryuk hovering above us. It was about time he got his Shinigami ass over here. But what good will he be? He was probably not going to turn on Light, and it's not like he could kill me. So he was useless. Annoying and useless. I guess he could turn his Shinigami ass around and fly off like a good Ryuk.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped.

"I follow Light around because he has _my_ Death Note. When he dies I'll take it back."

Light laughed. "Ryuk, I won't be dying for quite some time. You'll be here for a while."

"Not if I can help it." I snarled and threw myself at him, arms outstretched. My hands grasped his neck and I held on tight. He gasped and fell backwards, dragging me down on top of him. To make sure he stayed down I just sat on his chest with as much weight as possible.

Then an arm wrapped around my waist and lifted me up. I kicked and thrashed around in a dead panic. Nobody picked me up. _Nobody._

"Hey little girl, that's enough." Someone muttered. "There's no need to kill the guy just because he broke up with you." He set me down on my feet and went to help Light up. There were bruised on his neck already.

"What? That's not the reason I was going to kill him. In fact, I'd be thrilled if he broke up with me. That is, if we ever dated. Which will never happen. Because we're not together. He's already cheating on his girlfriend." The guy, a large man with muscles larger than my thigh, turned around slowly to look at me while still helping Light up. "You know what? I'm gonna shut up for now."

He had a confused look on his face, but shook his head and turned to Light. "You alright man?"

Light nodded in his hunched over position. He had a hand pressed to his chest. I must've done a good job at choking him.

Without warning I rocketed forwards again, still in my little rage of fury. I swear, I could've been on fire and wouldn't have noticed. That's how pissed I was at Light.

The guy threw out an arm and cut me off. He backed me up a few steps carefully. "Calm down already. What did he do to you?"

_That idiot gave me a heart attack, along with thousands of others, that's what!_

I wanted to punch this guy, also, but I knew he did nothing wrong. I'd probably end up being sued if I actually tried to hurt him. Damn laws…

"Here, let's call your parents and get them to pick you up. Can I see your phone?" He held out his hand towards me.

I considered the idea of calling L. It would be a smart idea. I could just scream 'Light is Kira!' into the microphone and then scream and run away before Light did something to try and kill me. Sure, it would weird the muscle-guy out, but who cared? I knew the truth, and I had to tell Ryuzaki soon.

"Yeah, I'll call them." I pulled my phone out to dial, but Light reached forwards and smacked my phone down, shattered it on the ground. I stood there, my hand still out like the phone was there, staring down at the remains of the phone. Watari had lent it to me in case of emergencies. I really hoped I wouldn't have to pay him back for that. "Hey, what's up with that?"

"Oh, oops, I tripped. Still a little dizzy from your attack." Light said smoothly before pulling out his own phone. "I'll call him."

Before Muscles could stop me, I punched him again. Not because he broke phone – I couldn't care less about that. It's because he was friggin' Kira and deserved a few noticeable bruises before being sent off for the death penalty.

"Hey, quit it!" Muscles tried to grab me against before I went after the stumbling Light, but I swiftly dodged. Rage had already flooded over inside of me, and now I just had to get that out. My fist was totally going to hurt tomorrow, but I could live. "Stop it right now!"

Light slumped back against the building, his narrowed eyes focusing on me as I charged forwards. Then, at the last moment, he moved to his left and let me crash into the wall where he had been. And after that he slammed a fist right into my rips. It felt like he was trying to break them, but for once I was thankful for my lack of balance, and let myself fall to the side rather than standing there and taking the entire blow.

I turned the best I could in midair and landed on my shoulder blades rather than my actual shoulder. Muscles was in shock and could only stare at the fight. Light moved towards me to probably knock me out with a punch to the head, but with every last ounce of energy I had, I pushed myself up with my arms with help from some kind of inhuman strength, and with the momentum I slammed both feet straight onto Light's already bruised jaw. He groaned and fell back onto his butt, but my feet didn't leave his jaw. I continued forwards and knocked him to the ground, crushing his fragile jaw with my wait. No doubt I broke it. Shattered it beyond repair, I bet.

I rolled to the side and sat up, panting.

"Whoa, that was cool." Ryuk landed beside me like I hadn't just beat up Kira. "But don't you think you overdid it?"

I shook my head. "No, he deserved that."

"Who are you talking to?" Muscles asked as he was crouched down next to an unconscious Light.

"Nobody." I muttered.

Ryuk laughed. "Well, it seems to me that your strength is extraordinary. Must be the Shinigami part of you kicking in."

I didn't respond. I just stared at Light, trying to decide if I regretted what I had done or not. The majority of me didn't feel a bit of remorse, but a tiny part was wondering how the hell I was going to explain all of this to everybody.

If Light really was Kira, which he clearly was, did that mean that Misa was the second Kira? Ryuzaki was right about Light, so he was probably also right about Misa. And she could probably get back at me for harming Light, especially if she loved him as much as she said she did. I heard her say it about twenty-six times a day. There was no doubting her loved for him.

So if I was going to lie for a little while until Misa was gone and I could tell everyone else without endangering myself and the others, what would I say? That I beat him up because I felt like it? Sure, Light had been out of it for quite some time and had made a few mistakes, but coming close to killing to guy probably wasn't a reasonable action just to snap him back into his normal self. And nobody would believe me if I said I was PMSing.

I dropped my head into my hands. I knew I was being selfish. I was worried about myself when what I really needed to do was tell Ryuzaki as soon as I saw him in order to put a stop to things, and then I could worry about Misa killing me later. And if I did get another heart attack or had some freak accident, that would be as much proof as anybody needed to know that Misa was the one who tried to kill me.

Wait a minute, if Light knew that I had a little Shinigami in me, did that mean Misa knew too? She might not know that I couldn't be killed by Kira's powers. But if she did know, then what would she do? She might suffocate me in my sleep or stab me while I wasn't paying attention. People would do a lot when those who they loved were hurt.

And there was no way they were going to believe me if I said Light was jumped.

I groaned and watched as Muscles called someone with Light's phone. He as probably calling Light's dad. Oh great, the chief was going to be pissed at me. And he would break if I told him that Light was Kira. But what could I do? Everybody would be hurt if they learned that Ryuzaki was right and Kira really was Kira. I didn't want to be the one to break that to them, but there was no way I could possibly keep a secret of that massive size from those who put their trust in me. Then they'd all get pissed at me later on when I finally told them.

"Hey Kat, you alright?" Ryuk asked.

I just shot him a sideways glare for a brief moment before going back to ignoring him.

Two minutes later the van pulled up and everyone in the task force, Misa, Watari, and L all piled out.

"What happened here?" Mr. Yagami demanded. That's twice in one month that his son was attacked. Yeesh, that must've been harsh to swallow.

"Light!" Misa cried and fell to her knees beside Light.

Muscles stood up to face the chief. "Apparently he said or did something to tick of this girl here." He motioned towards me. "And she attacked him."

I huffed. "Thanks for making me sound like the bad guy."

"Katsuki," L crouched next to me on the opposite side of Ryuk. "What did Light say?"

The truth burned my tongue. I had to tell him. I couldn't keep it a secret. No, not from them. Light needed to be stopped. Criminals may have done wrong, but not every single one of them deserved to be killed. Like me, for instance. If I was a judge and someone else played me, I would just give them a small punishment. Not death.

"Light…" Tears watered my eyes as I spoke in nothing but a tiny whisper. That's when I realized just how scared I was. My adrenaline had hid my fear for a while, but now it was all coming back in one giant tsunami of emotions. Anger, hatred, betrayal, sadness, shock, fear, and a little more anger were all mixed inside my chest. "Light is Kira…"

* * *

**Oh dear, I typed that all in one stretch and now my fingers hurt.**** The ideas wouldn't stop coming. They were bubbling out of my ears and bleeding out of my mouth. Okay, not really, but it sure felt like it.  
**

***Breaths out a long sigh* Well, that was quite the chapter. A long one, at that. Hope you all liked it, because I had a great time typing it!**

**Happy Fourth of July! Whoo-hoo! *Flails arms* I won't be updating for the rest of today because we're celebrating with friends, but I'll be sure to start on chapter 11 tomorrow or later tonight, depending on how exhausted I am.**

**Don't worry, this isn't the end. There are going to be a whole lot of chapters in the future. Just because Light is busted doesn't mean the end is here ;D Katsuki still has to figure out what the heck she really is!**

**Thanks for reading, and I'll see you whenever I post the next chapter!**

**~BurntPickle**


	11. Chapter 11 - One Emotional Wreck

Chapter 11

L just sat there with his wide eyes focused on me, but I could see the hint of satisfaction that he was trying to hide.

Ryuzaki was the only one who heard me, but everyone else was focused on me, maybe hoping that I would say it again. I wasn't going to. They didn't need to know yet. Not here in public, where everyone could break down and make a fool out of themselves.

And at the same time, a wave of exhaustion had already settled over me. I wasn't sleepy, but more like too-tired-to-move. But I wasn't going to complain if they told me to take a nap.

"Are you sure?" Ryuzaki asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, he told me himself. And clearly I believed him." I waved a hand over to Light. I did feel kind of bad after thinking about it for a moment. I _did_ go a little overboard. I had no idea how it happened. Ryuk never said anything about the Shinigami having super strength or stamina. I found it hard to imagine someone as oddly proportioned and thin as Ryuk could possibly even physically hurt someone.

Ryuzaki looked over at his friend. Okay, I really did feel bad now. Everyone was going to think that I had no control over my temper, which really wasn't too far from the truth. I'd never been very mature, especially when ticked. But what other choice did I have? If I didn't act, then Light could possibly kill half of the world's population, maybe even more.

Man, guilt was something I sucked at letting go of. I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep comfortably that night, or maybe I wouldn't even get a blink of sleep at all.

"Thank you, Katsuki." Ryuzaki murmured.

I flinched. "What? Why are you thanking me?"

"For letting me know. My suspicions about Light are confirmed. And he'll be put to a stop."

I sighed and stared over at Light, his dad, and Misa. They were all beside him, willing him to wake up. I didn't kill him… did I? Because if I did, that would really suck. I never wanted to actually kill anybody. But Light was breathing softly, so that was a good sign.

Misa held his hand tightly and sobbed uncontrollably. I wanted to comfort her and apologize, but she would never listen. No girl wants to talk to someone who just attacked the love of her life. I bit my lower lip and stood up.

"I'll be back. I need some space." I turned and walked away, doing my best to keep myself under control. I wanted to run away, but I a.) Knew somehow they'd track me down, and b.) Was too stubborn to do such a pathetic thing.

"Katsuki, wait!" Matsuda shouted, and I heard his footsteps following after me.

I whirled around and shot him a glare. "Matsuda, what do you not understand about needing some space?!" I snapped. As soon as the words left my mouth I instantly regretted letting them slip off of my tongue. Matsuda stopped, his eyes wide with shock. I winced and looked away, not wanting to see his hurt expression. Without another word, I turned and ran. Yes, I _ran_. At the same time, I felt my pride dripping from my pores and falling behind on the road.

* * *

I sat curled up on the little couch I used as a bed only a few weeks ago. My arms were wrapped around the knees that were pulled up against my chest. I had ran back to the small little apartment since I had nowhere else to go. I hadn't been inside in quite a while, but it hadn't felt the same as it did when I was in there last. It felt too trashy and crappy. I wanted to be outside, doing random things that would benefit nobody. Yet I stayed there, not even trying to get up.

I stared at the clock that hung on the wall. It had ran out of battery two years ago, and the hands were stuck pointing to the time that read 4:28.

There was a knocking on my door that caused me to look over. _Alright, who followed me?_ I stood up and stretched my arms above my head.

But before walking over and actually answering, I paused and waiting for the knocking to continue. There was a long pause before someone on the outside said, "Hello?"

"Nobody's home." I called back.

"Katsuki, open the door." Misa demanded. She didn't sound happy.

"I'm sorry, but I feel threatened. I'm afraid you might kill me." I plopped back down on the couch and reclined back against the old torn cushions.

"I won't kill you, Kat. But we need to talk." She actually sounded sincere, but I knew it could all just be an act. If I opened that door, she could easily stab me with a knife before I could even meet gazes with her. And that would just ruin my day completely.

"And you the Second Kira or not? There's no use of lying to me since I already know about Light."

"Will you beat _me_ up too?"

I sighed. Yeah, nobody is going to let me forget that for a while. "No, I'm not going to beat you up. I don't think I have the heart to even smack you."

"Could you let me in then? I'll tell you everything if you do."

I stared at the doorknob. I didn't want company. I just wanted to wallow in the darkness. I didn't need somebody else to do that.

"Katsuki." She warned. What would she do if I didn't open the door? Kick it down? It's not like I didn't know already. By not denying that she was the Second Kira immediately after I asked, that basically implied that she really _was_ the Second Kira, and L was right all along.

"Can we have this talk later? Just give me a few hours. I'm still trying to sort out my emotions. I don't need them scrambled again."

I heard her sigh. "I understand that you're mad, but-"

"I'm pissed!" I snarled. "Do you not understand the number of lives you and Light killed together? It's not fair to the rest of us that you're doing this! I actually thought that maybe you _weren't_ the Second Kira, and L was wrong. But clearly I shouldn't ever trust anybody. And I know everybody else feels betrayed, too."

She was silent for a long time. Long enough for me to think that she left. But then she started talking again. "Katsuki, you don't know what it's like. Light killed the man that murdered my parents, and that's why I wanted to do everything I possibly could to make his dreams come true. He wanted to a world where there was no crime and everybody could be safe and happy."

I felt my anger boiling my blood. I wanted to scream, cry, and throw something. The emotions were just too much, and I didn't know how to cope with them. So I curled up into a little ball and drew circles on my knee with a finger. That didn't help anything, but I liked to think it was calming me down.

"That's why? What about _my_ parents? Kira killed both my mom and dad. I find it hard to worship him after that." I stretched my legs out in front of me and clasped my fingers together behind my head.

"That's not his fault!"

"Oh really? Then whose fault is it? Mine? I seriously doubt that."

"Light doesn't make exceptions. They shouldn't have been doing whatever they were doing, anyway."

I scoffed. "Yeah, but that wasn't something I could help." My parents weren't total serial killers. They were more like… bounty hunters, taken to an extreme. Someone would call them up and tell them that someone owed them money. My parents would go and track that person down, and if they refused to pay their fees, they'd kill them. And all of it happened without any interaction with the government or police. They probably should've been caught years before then, but I wasn't going to complain about that. It's not like I _wanted_ my parents to die.

"Katsuki, why don't you want to talk to me?"

I glared at the door. Not that should could possibly know, but it made me feel a little better. "Oh, I don't know, because you and your boyfriend are a pair of lying killers? Is that a good enough reason for you?"

"You know what, Kat? You can just stay there for as long as you like. It isn't affecting me at all. I'm going to go do what I actually _want_ to do, which is check on Light." And then I heard footsteps for a few seconds, then it was dead silence.

I sighed and stared up at the ceiling. I felt terrible about myself, but it was hard for me to get out of my pissy mood when I was deep enough in.

Maybe I'd be a little happier if only they had supplied me with coffee.

I groaned and shook my head, wishing that I could just throw some thoughts into the trash and then burn them so that they wouldn't come back. But I kept replaying everything over and over again.

"Hey."

I jerked up and glared at the Shinigami standing directly in front of me.

"I'd appreciate it if you knocked."

He chuckled. "But that would be too easy for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Why are you here?"

"I've got a little bit of information that might be of use to you."

"Information about what?"

"I'm not telling you unless you buy me an apple."

My eyebrows sank. "Buy you an apple? Can't you just go nab one off the shelves of the supermarket?"

"To everybody else I'm invisible, but when I touch anything, that object still can be seen by anybody. They'd just see an apple floating out of the store."

"And you, a Shinigami, is worried about what others think?"

"No, but it's best if we don't stir up too much trouble in the human world."

"But throwing Death Notes at people is just fine. Yeah, I get it. Why not hand idiotic people the ability to kill anybody they please? That's a way to not jack shit up." I slumped back against the couch and spread my arms out over the back. "Anyway, you want an _apple_? Sorry, I'm not really in the mood to steal things right now. I kind of just pissed off the Second Kira. I'd rather not go asking for another heart attack. And I bet she'd gladly write my name in bubble letters, too."

"I guess this information isn't all that important to you then." He turned and started to walk through the wall.

I needed to know everything I could about what the heck I was. And my pride was already down the drain, so why not waste every last drop I had in me.

"Fine, let's go. We'll have to make it quick, because I'm really in the mood to not do anything." I shot up, and he stopped midway through the wall. Slowly he backed up, giggling. "Wonderful. Light hasn't been feeding me properly."

"Do Gods of Death actually have to eat?" I grabbed my old black jacket off of the floor and slid the sleeves over my arms, and then flipped the hood up. It wasn't cold, but I didn't want anybody to recognize me.

"No, actually, but I'm sort of addicted to those juicy red fruits. Apples in the human world are irresistible. Even though Gods of Death don't actually have to eat because our organs have long since shriveled up and died, I still love the flavor. And when I don't eat them on a regular basis, I get all twitchy and I can't even act normal."

"You have a normal? Compared to most people I've seen, you need to have some serious counseling."

"Hey now, I don't have to stick around, you know!"

"And I don't have to go and get you an apple, but do you see me walking out this door?" I opened the door and made a huge arm gesture to make sure he noticed I was leaving.

I only lived down the street from the supermarket. Ten minutes would be all it took. I would live, as long as Ryuk didn't do anything stupid.

* * *

**See? I got my butt together and got another chapter down! So Kat turned into an emotional wreck this time. Whoops! I bet you expected her to do something stupid and get her nose broken. Nope, she went and hid in her room like a tough girl.  
**

**Thanks for reading and following Kat's story. ^_^ I appreciate all of your support. It gives me a reason to write instead of just flat out boredom.**

**~BurntPickle**


	12. Chapter 12 - The Truth

Chapter 12

Ryuk hovered beside me as I walked with my head down towards the supermarket. I stayed pressed into the shadows. Sure, I looked overly suspicious, but I didn't want anyone on the task force to notice me. They were probably already at the hospital with Light. Guilt invaded my mind, but I threw up a wall. A nice pink, bedazzled, covered-in-barbed-wire brick wall. There was no point to all of the little accessories, but it gave me something to focus on instead of just keeping the guilt out.

Ryuk suddenly let out a groan. I sighed and looked up and over my shoulder at the horrifyingly ugly Shinigami. Then again, I could bet every last bit of my sanity that all Shinigami were ugly. When you're dead, or I guess God of the dead, you don't need to be pretty.

"What is it?" I snapped.

He lifted a scrawny arm and pointed it in front of me.

I followed his arm, only to find L standing there, slouched forwards. His hands were stuffed inside of his pockets, and his large eyes were focused on me. I bet he thought I just talked to an imaginary friend instead of a Shinigami that was invisible to him. Oh well, I have the right to be a little on the crazy side today.

A growl escaped from the back of my throat. "Go get your own damn apple, Ryuk. Looks like I've got better things to do."

He didn't look all that happy, even though he wasn't frowning. But he didn't argue. He flew on and past Ryuzaki without another word, and then disappeared into the supermarket.

I stopped a few feet away from L. He didn't look pissed, but instead curious.

"Katsuki…" He sighed. "Are you alright?"

I looked off to the side, not really wanting to talk at all at this moment. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken, that's all."

He nodded once. "Yes, I have to agree with you on that."

I flicked my eyes back towards his. "Why aren't you celebrating? You were right, weren't you? Oh, and I'm 99% sure than Misa is the second Kira. So you were right about that, too."

His shoulders lifted and then fell. "You'd think I'd be happy, but I'm not. I'm actually feeling a little depressed."

I understood why. From what I had heard, Light was the only person L considered as a friend. To find out he really was a killer for whatever reason is quite a comedown.

"Yeah… so, what are you going to do with him? Throw him in prison for seven lifetimes?"

A halfhearted smirk played onto his face, but all too soon his lips and eyes fell. In fact, his entire face seemed to darken with sadness. "The only punishment they can give him that could even start to pay for the crimes he's done is the death penalty. Same with Misa."

"Oh." I dropped my hood and shoved my hands into the pockets of the jacket. "And there isn't any other way?"

He shook his head. "No. Since we don't know how he kills, he could still continue in prison. He could kill everyone around him unless they isolated him for the rest of his life, and then that's just not a life worth living. We don't need those in the prison killed if they're already there."

I wanted to tell him about the Death Note. No, I had to tell him. I couldn't let myself live with the guilt of knowing I was the reason Light and Misa were both killed. No way, I might kill myself from sobbing too much."

"L – I mean Ryuzaki, I know how Light does it. I know how he kills."

L perked up. "How?"

"Well, I don't really understand it myself, but maybe if Ryuk came back…"

"Ryuk?"

"The Shinigami."

L's eyes widened, which I could've sworn were like Misa's and were already too wide. But they got bigger. "Shini…gami?  
"Yep."

"And how long have you known about all of this?"

I shrugged. "Known about it? Ryuk informed me the day after my heart attack. Understood it? I still don't."

He sighed. "Katsuki, why didn't you tell us?"

I knew he was going to ask that. I avoided his eyes by looking at the ground. "I'm sorry."

"That's not the answer I was looking for. I know you're sorry, but _why_ did you keep your mouth shut? Did the Shinigami tell you to never say a word?"

I shook my head. "No, but… I didn't know how to explain it."

He didn't say a word for a long time. I didn't look up until he started talking again. "How does he do it?"

I was grateful for the change in subject. I jumped on it immediately. "Okay, so he has this notebook thing, called a Death Note. He just has to write someone's first and last name on the pages of this notebook, mind you it's been given to them by a Shinigami, and then that person will die of the heart attack. I don't know if it's just heart attacks, maybe he can do something to make it a little more interesting. But that's all I know."

"Have you used it?"

I shook my head. "Nope, but I did get hit in the face by a falling one. That's why I can see Ryuk."

"So if you touch this… Death Note… you can see the Shinigami named Ryuk."

I nodded in confirmation. "Yep."

"Can I see it?"

"I don't own one. If Ryuk comes back anytime soon, then I can probably convince him to show you." I looked over L's shoulder to see if maybe Ryuk had impeccable timing, but no such luck. "Now where did he go? How long does is take a Shinigami to get an apple and go?"

I heard him suck in a sharp breath. "Gods of Death… love apples?"

"Uh, I guess this one does."

He looked totally amazed.

"Ryuzaki, you okay? You there still?"

He blinked. Yes, L blinked. I had never seen it happen before, but whoa, it just happened. I wish I had a video camera to capture the moment, but I didn't even own one. "Yes, my apologies."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly but didn't ask. I had my own secrets. Including the whole Shinigami part of me. That I might keep hidden for a little while longer, or at least until I understood a little more. Maybe I'd just walk through a wall casually and act like it was nothing, and then explain myself.

Suddenly I saw Ryuk emerging. In his hands were two apples. To anyone else, those where two floating apples. Even L followed my gaze and clearly looked surprised to see the apples.

"Is that the Shinigami?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"Yep."

"The same one that knew about Light?"

I nodded. "I'm pretty sure."

Ryuk floated up next to me and started to munch on one of the apples. He was making a mess all over himself.

"Ryuk, hand me your Death Note." I said.

He looked first at L and then at me. "Why?"

"Don't ask why, just give it."

He watched me carefully as he pulled his Death Note out of some random pocket. I took it from him, paused for a few moments, and then held it out to L. "Here," I said. "This is apparently how Light did it."

L grabbed the top tips of the notebook with his index fingers and thumbs and pulled it from my hands, and then proceeded to dangle it in front of his face. When he dropped it slowly, his dark eyes fell onto Ryuk. Then he looked down at the notebook and flipped open the first page.

"The human whose name is written in this notebook… shall die." He read aloud. I myself hadn't read the rules of the notebook yet, so all of this was new to me. L slowly looked back up at Ryuk. He stared the Shinigami dead in the eye, which I was kind of impressed by. "It's Ryuk, right?"

"Uh, yes." Ryuk responded.

"Why are you here? Or, better yet, why did you bring_ this_ here?" L raised the Death Note in acknowledgement.

"I was bored. When you can live forever in a barren wasteland, even Shinigami need some entertainment every once and awhile."

"So you let a justice-starved teenager decide who lives or not?" I spoke up, also a little curious. "That's awfully dangerous, Ryuk. Imagine all of the people who have to live in fear each day, wondering if Kira will get them or not because they stole a pen from their shrink."

"Why not?" Ryuk answered honestly.

I threw my head back and groaned. "Ryuk, do you not understand that thousands of lives have been killed because _you were bored? _Did your morals waste away like your organs?"

Ryuk was silent for a moment. His mouth hung open like it normally did. L and I waited impatiently, but then watched as he swallowed down his second apple whole.

L sighed. "Come on Katsuki. There's no use. People will think we're insane for talking to something they can't see. We should go and see Light, and from there you can scold him all you'd like." L turned and started to walk away, expecting me to follow him.

"I'm not really interested in seeing the guy that nearly killed me."

"Yes… about that…"

_Shit._

"If it was Light, how did you survive? Are you… immortal?" He asked quietly. I started to walk and ended up passing him before he started moving again.

I thought of what I could say. I couldn't think of any other reason other than the fact that I had a little Shinigami in me. There was no other logical explanation.

Well fuck it all. He already knows about Ryuk, so why not spill everything else at once?

"If you really want to know, I'll tell you." I said with my hands in my jacket pockets.

"Go ahead."

I took a deep breath before starting. I told him everything I knew, and also mentioned there was a lot I didn't know. I told him how I could possibly get a few powers of the Shinigami that replaced part of my human soul. Whatever percentage that was, I had no idea. I told him that Ryuk was the only way I could learn about what I was. I didn't try to keep any secrets this time. I just spilled everything I could possibly think of.

When I finally finished in my huge rant that I doubt he understood much of, he simply nodded. "Interesting."

"That's all you have to say?"

He didn't answer my question, but just moved on to his own. "And how long have you known about this?"

"Again, not long. I really didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to believe it. Also, it doesn't serve any purpose to the investigation at all. Well actually I've barely done anything except prove you right, but that's not bad considering where I came from."

L seemed to be in his own little world. "Yes…"

* * *

When I arrived to the hospital with L after being driven by Watari, I realized just how nervous I was. If Misa was with Light (If the idiot was awake already) I'd be in for an ear bleed. I also didn't want to talk with Light, since he's Kira and all and I got the feeling he didn't like me so much right now. L, on the other hand, took no time at all to question a doctor who was waiting for us.

"You're Ryuzaki, correct?" The doctor asked.

L nodded. "Yes."

He smiled. "You're here to see Light Yagami?"

"Yes." L repeated, but I could tell his patience was wearing thin.

"Right this way." The doctor turned and walked in front of L.

I hesitated and stayed put. L needed to see his friend in private, right? I shifted on my toes nervously, not sure what to do.

Watari placed a hand on my shoulder and offered me a kind smile. "It'll be fine. I doubt Light will be any trouble if he knows what's best for him." He chuckled as if he made a funny joke, but I was a little too bummed to laugh along with him. "Come now, Ryuzaki hates going places. At least accompany him so he won't pass out."

Watari moved forwards and I followed behind him.

When we caught up to L and the doctor, they were actually waiting for us.

"Ryuzaki, is something wrong?" Watari asked, noticing how L was staring blankly at the door.

"No, it's just that I'm a little stuck on trying to figure out what to say to him. Sorry you got beat up because you killed thousands of people? I get the feeling he won't appreciate that one."

I felt a little better knowing I wasn't the only person who was a little uncertain.

"It's probably best if you don't talk too much. Save his ears for when I get to bitch him out later." I leaned my shoulder against the wall, and then winced when it sent a searing pain through my back. Yeah, it was totally bruised.

The doctor looked a little surprised by my comment, or maybe my language, or probably both. But he quickly reached for the door.

"Alright then, why don't you go and say hello? He seems to be in stable condition."

* * *

**It's been awhile. Yep, I couldn't stay with this chapter. It was just so hard to write because I've had a lot going n these past days. No, it was nothing bad or depressing, just a little extra work that I'm not used to. I'm sorry about the wait for this chapter, and I'm really sorry that it isn't as amusing or entertaining as it could be. If you need a new set of eyeballs after this, just ask Ryuk. He'll gladly take half of your lifespan. ;)****  
**

**Your reviews are greatly appreciated! All of you guys who continue to read this, despite the fact that I'm quite inconsistent in my posting rate. I'm just... "unpredictable" like that. Heh, heh, heh... yeah, sure.**

**Edit: Oh dear, sorry about that! When I was uploading this chapter, I messed up a little bit and accidentally clicked the wrong thing! Thanks for letting me know so soon! **

**~BurntPickle**


	13. Chapter 13- Consequences and Beyond That

Chapter 13

L was about to walk through the door, but he stopped and just peered inside through the small crack. There was a hint of hesitance in his round eyes.

"He looks like crap, doesn't he?" I looked down at my toes, ashamed. I _had_ overdone it. I was surprised I didn't kill the guy.

"Much deserved…" He muttered before slipping inside.

Three minutes later he came back out. I hadn't listened in to their conversation. I was too busy wondering what I was going to say. So many ideas came to mind, but none of them seemed appropriate for the situation.

"Your turn." He said as he walked past me towards Watari.

I swallowed nervously and pushed the door open slowly. "Heeeey Light…" I whispered.

Light's eyes studied me for a moment. Ryuk was nowhere to be seen. That idiotic Shinigami probably went to get some apples.

"Katsuki, I'm…" He started, but his voice trailed off.

He wasn't sorry. I knew it. He wouldn't have become Kira if he was ashamed of it. I wanted to punch him again, but his face was already black and blue. He seriously looked like his face was hit by a truck. His jaw was terribly swollen and he had a black eye. His neck was purple from when I tried to choke him. If that one muscly dude hadn't come along, I probably wouldn't have stopped.

"What are you, Light? Are you sorry? I doubt it." I snarled. I was fighting the urge to scream and cry and throw something. It was difficult to maintain self-control.

"I don't understand. Why did you attack me?" He asked, looking purely innocent.

I gasped softly, but then realized that he could be faking. "Light, you know why. You're Kira."

His jaw fell open. Maybe I hadn't broke it, but it definitely hurt. "I thought you and Ryuzaki were over that!"

I stared at him, dumbfounded. "What are you talking about? You admitted it to me."

Ryuk suddenly stepped through the wall, looking as carefree as ever. "Ah, but what if he forgot?" He asked in his hoarse voice. "Light gave up ownership of the Death Note, which wiped his memory of everything that had to do with using the Death Note. At this moment, Light is just a normal guy who got beat up."

"But…" I had no words. He gave up ownership? What the hell did that mean? How could he not remember it anymore? That's completely unfair! He chickened out!

He frowned at me, unable to see Ryuk. "What?"

"Light, you seriously don't remember anything?"

He looked totally confused. I wanted to slap the sense into him. "I never forgot anything."

I gritted my teeth together in frustration. I was pissed off. Now there was no justification for me attacking Light. No proof. We could beat him to death and he wouldn't know why.

"So why did you attack me? I'm not Kira. I would never kill so many people."

I snorted and shook my head. "Never mind. Look, I'm sorry if I ruined your jaw. I'll be… outside…" I walked out of the room as fast as I could without looking panicked. As soon as I saw L I raced forwards and looped my elbow around his arm to drag him away from Watari. "This way."

He stumbled, taken by surprise, but quickly regained balance. "Yes Katsuki?"

"He doesn't remember a single thing." I said, coming to a stop. I dropped L's arm as I did and slumped against a wall.

"Yes, I noticed."

"I wasn't lying when I told you Light was Kira. You see, Ryuk explained to be that Light gave up ownership of the Death Note, which erased all memories of using it. Which means he doesn't remember a single thing about being Kira."

He nodded once. "But he's still guilty. The only problem is, is that we have no proof of it. No recordings, no evidence, and only one true witness."

"Then what are we going to do?"

He lifted his hand to his lips and lightly chewed on his thumbnail, staring at a wall like it had the answer. "I don't know. However, you _did_ say something about Misa being the second Kira, right?"

"Yeah, but I haven't heard from her in a while. I have no clue where she went off to."

"Unless she also has given up ownership, she still has the memories. If we could get her to talk…"

"I doubt she'll ever sell Light out, even if she was about to receive the death penalty. She'll deny everything until Light's life is secured."

"True." He sighed. "The only way I can think of is to have her believe that Light is dead, and use the emotional trauma to try and get the proof we need."

"You do realize how cruel that is, right?"

"Yes, I do. But if Light somehow regains ownership of the Death Note and continues killing, then we would instantly regret saving Misa's feelings. The price of a few hours or maybe a day of mourning compared to more deaths that we might not be able to stop until we have some more proof is certainly too hard to ignore."

I groaned and ran a hand through my hair. "But you're the world's greatest detective. Don't you think they'll know you're right, even if you don't have proof?"

"The death penalty, with no doubt will be what both Light and Misa receive, is something they don't take softly. Just because they trust my deductions does not mean that they'll kill someone because I say to. That would be too much like playing God, and I understand why they won't allow me to. Just like everyone else, I am susceptible to getting addicted to power. Just look at Light. He started out as an innocent straight-A student who was given a taste of a God's power, and now look at him."

"I guess you're right. But going back to the whole evidence, or lack thereof, thing, what about me being a witness? He told me straight to my face that he was Kira. Just because I don't have physical proof that he told me, that doesn't mean I can't whip out the fake tears and pull off that innocent girl look."

"There is little chance that they will actually believe you."

"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

"Not really. They would most likely ban you from the court, which may not sound bad to you because you really shouldn't ever need to go back to the court, but it's not a good idea."

I frowned. "Well that sucks."

"Indeed."

I bowed my head in frustration. Why did Light have to give up ownership? It made things harder. Sure, normally I was up for a challenge, seems how I had nothing better to do, but this? Nuh-uh, this was way too much. I thought that when I started to work with L, it would've been easy. Just giving a little advice here and there about how criminals thought or what they did. But clearly that was not the case.

* * *

I didn't have to go to school the next day. Why? Because the police decided they wanted to talk to me. I did commit a hit-and-run, in a way, but I couldn't tell them the truth.

I stood outside, leaning against the police car. The two officers stood before me with confused looks on their faces.

"_You_ beat him up?" The larger of the two officers looked dumbfounded.

I nodded once in confirmation. "Yep."

"But… how?" The other one looked just as lost.

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I threw a few wild punches and kicks and hit him. It really isn't all that hard to understand. You've seen cases like this before, right? One person attacks another."

"Yes, I knew that," The larger one said. "But it's very uncommon that a girl like you could possibly hurt a guy. Usually it's the other way around, or fights between the same genders."

I flinched. "Excuse me? Sure, I'm not the tough, muscled girl that could easily rearrange your face, but I'm not weak either."

The smaller officer sighed. "Please, Miss Azuma, can we make this easy for us all?"

"I'd really like it to be that way. It'd be great if you left."

"Katsuki, please play nice. We'd rather not have to bail you out of jail today." L muttered from the entrance of Headquarters. I had no idea when he got there, but apparently I was easy to sneak up on.

I narrowed my eyes, first at L, and then at the officers. Silently I folded my arms across my chest and scowled.

"Miss Azuma, can you tell us why you attacked Mr. Yagami?"

I glanced over at the doors where L stood, but he was gone. _Thanks for the help._ "He pissed me off."

"So you attacked him?" The larger officer raised his eyebrows.

"Yes." I said casually and picked at my nails.

"What did he say?"

_That he was Kira._ "It wasn't just what he said. It was what he did. He accepted a date with another girl, even though he is already dating someone else."

"Is he dating you? Is that why you were mad"

I snorted. "No way, I'd never be able to get along with someone like that for more than ten minutes in the same room."

"Then why were you with him?" The smaller one asked.

"Does this really matter?"

"Yes." He said.

I groaned. "We were walking back from school. He made plans with the other girl on campus. I was right next to him as he did."

"Now Miss Azuma, do you think it was necessary to attack Mr. Yagami in such a way for that kind of reason?"

Yes. Yes it was. I would do it again. I wanted to tell them everything, but I knew I'd definitely be in some huge trouble when L found out. I was already walking a dangerous path at the moment. One more mess up and I would probably be dumped back out onto the streets.

"No…" I muttered through gritted teeth.

The larger officer sighed. "If only an apology could be enough for you to get off the hook."

I glared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"We're going to have to take you into the nearest prison until you're cleared."

My mouth dropped open. "You're kidding. I can't be arrested! I'm not old enough!"

"With the injuries you've caused another person, and the fact that you didn't stay at the scene of the crime until we got there, gives us the option to at least contain you."

* * *

I was not a happy criminal. I was sitting in a tiny cell, staring at the wall opposite of me, studying a large spider sticking to the wall. I was not going near that thing. If someone wanted my attention, they could come in and kill the spider themselves. It was a little smaller than my fist, but I considered that way too big.

"Miss Azuma, may we come in?"

I looked over at the barred door where a different officer stood with someone else handcuffed.

"No." I replied. "Not unless you have you have something to kill that _thing_ with."

"Miss Azuma, that is no way to refer to your fellow cellmate." The officer scolded.

"Not them, you idiot! The spider!"

"Oh." He chuckled. "Are you scared of a little spider?" He taunted and opened the door and shoved L inside after unlocking the handcuffs. What did L do?

"Yes, now kill it." I ordered the officer. He rolled his eyes and walked over, smashed the spider with his fist, and then walked away without picking it up. Then he shut the door behind him and locked it without another word.

I turned to L. "What are you doing here?"

He looked at me, confused. "Who are you?" He asked as he got into his weird crouch position.

"We know each other, smart one."

He snorted with a smirk. "No, you probably know L. I am Beyond Birthday."

I narrowed my eyes. "But you look exactly the same as him."

"Yes, I know. I was raised to be his successor, that's why. But anyway, why are you here?"

Deciding to believe him on the entire successor story, since it could easily be possible, I went ahead and answered him. "I beat up Kira."

His eyes lit up with amusement. "Really? And just how do you know that this person was Kira?"

"Because he flat out told me, that's how."

"Who is he?"

"Your Predecessor's BFF, that's who."

He chuckled. "I find that impossible. L never had any friends."

"Apparently he's changed. Now why are _you_ here?"

"I'm the world's greatest _murderer._"

I flinched. "Huh?"

"You heard me."

"So why are you _here_?" I waved my hand in a little circle around me. "And not in some super-containment-place?"

"Because I requested to speak with Ryuzaki. And don't worry, I don't have plans to kill you. That would make it too easy for him to figure out."

I rolled my eyes. Great. I was in a cell with a mass murder who looked all too much like L for my preference. What else could they add? A tiger? I better not push my luck.

"Could you do something about that spider? Like, throw it out of here?" I asked.

He glanced over at the curled up monster on the floor. It was dead, but that didn't make me feel any better. He reached over and picked it up to dangle it in front of his face.

"You really don't belong here, do you? You're too young and pathetic." He flung the spider over towards me, which I proceeded to flail my arms at it and lunge to the right to avoid it.

"Young? Yes. Pathetic? I find it hard to agree with that. Look up 'pathetic' in the dictionary and you definitely won't find a picture of a fifteen-year-old girl with the accomplishment of surviving a heart attack and beating Kira to a pulp."

"Surviving a heart attack? What good does that do?"

_Shit._ I didn't want to tell him that. I didn't have a good explanation for it except for the truth.

Suddenly he smiled. "Were you hit by Kira and somehow survived?" When I didn't deny it immediately, he must have assumed he was right. Too bad that he was. He was so much like L in that way that it was scary. "How did you do it?"

I licked my lips nervously. "Well, if I tried to tell you the truth, you wouldn't believe me."

"There's a lot that I'm willing to believe. Please, enlighten me."

I closed my eyes and sighed. "If you must know, I'm part Shinigami. I still don't fully understand how I survived through it, but I did."

"So very interesting." He whispered.

"Ah, here she is." A voice echoed down the hall. "And Mr. Ryuzaki has a visitor also."

A different officer stopped in front of the cell with Watari and L by his side. L and Watari were both staring at Beyond, looking totally shocked.

"Thank you, sir." Watari smiled and nodded, recovering from his shock much quicker than L.

The officer excused himself to go and do something else. I looked over at Beyond to see him smiling happily.

"Nice to see you, _L_." He said.

L finally regained his passive look. "Beyond, what do you want? I have no interest in speaking with you."

Beyond laughed softly and stood up. He had the same slouch as L, same face, almost the same hair (His was a little flatter, probably from the prison grime in the air), same clothes, same _everything_!

"It's been a long time." Beyond said. He came nose to nose with L at the edge of the cell. "I've almost missed you."

"I can't say I've felt the same way about you." L responded.

"Listen, I've done my time here. I'm incredibly bored, with nothing to do except chat with the same people over and over, waiting for somebody interesting to show up." That's when he looked back at me. "She's quite the intriguing type, but it's clear that you know her and she knows you, which means that you're probably here to bail her out."

"What's your point?" Watari asked. Clearly he wasn't so fond of Beyond either. I personally found him a little funny. He was so much like L, but different in a huge way. The only problem was that he was killer, and that wasn't a good trait to look for in your acquaintances.

"He wants bailed out." I answered for Beyond. I wanted out of here ASAP. Beyond was only making things take longer. He was cool to meet, but I really hated the smell of this place.

"I refuse to let a killer and my enemy out of containment. That would be incredibly foolish." L kept his gaze focused on Beyond.

Beyond turned back to L. "What about her? She's now a criminal."

"Correction," I stood up. "I already was. I wasn't some mass murdered such as you, Beyond, but I did steal a few things, which technically made me a criminal in some sort."

"So how did you two come to know each other then?" Beyond asked. I didn't know if he was asking me or L, but it would be the same answer either way.

L didn't seem to be enjoying the conversation at all. "She is helping out on the Kira case. She was another perspective on the entire Kira subject itself, and the different thoughts that she voiced gave us more to think about and go off of."

"But now that you know who Kira is, she's useless." Beyond reminded.

"Thanks for pointing that out, Beyond." I muttered. "Just remember I can punch you, too. Kira wasn't anybody special."

L sighed. "Kira's memories are wiped of his killings, which gives us no evidence to back up our conclusion."

Beyond laughed blissfully. "Oh, you must be so frustrated. I'm thrilled to hear that."

"You know Beyond? For someone who has the word 'Birthday' in their name, you sure know how to ruin a party." I complained.

"Don't get me wrong, Shinigami wannabe," He turned and leaned against the bars. I was a little insulted at the nickname, but I did my best to hide my anger. "I am quite jealous that someone else can make L's life harder than it has to be, and do it just as well as I could. But it also fills me with joy that someone can be so troublesome. So," He looked over his shoulder at L. "When will I get to meet this Kira guy? Certainly someone as good of a detective as you can figure this out soon."

"You won't. He'll be given the death penalty without a doubt, so don't get your hopes up. Oh, and you're not being bailed out either, so give that dream up too."

Geez, L must've really hated Beyond. From what I had seen of L, he wasn't that rude. But I guess I would be mean to my lookalike too.

Beyond frowned. "Well that's no fun. Oh well, do you have any strawberry jam on you?"

"Why the hell would someone carry strawberry jam when going to a prison?" I asked, a little confused.

"I don't know, but I would've guessed that the great L would be able to predict my actions. Apparently he's been too caught up in this Kira case to even think of me."

"To answer your question, I do. Watari?" L said, not letting his gaze waver from Beyond for one moment.

Watari reached into his coat and pulled out a clear jar containing red jam before handing it to L. L handed it to Beyond through the bars of the cell. Beyond took it immediately and unscrewed the top before dipping his hand in without a second thought.

I was surprised. How could L have known Beyond Birthday would want to see him? He had looked so shocked before, but maybe that was just a natural reaction to seeing him. Though, maybe Watari just carried jam around for no apparent reason.

"Katsuki, we're ready to go when you are." L said.

"I've been ready for a while now."

* * *

**In celebration for passing 1,000 views, I made this chapter extra long! Like, a good extra thousand words were added to this story. And also, Beyond Birthday was featured, aka my favorite character in Death Note, even though he wasn't mentioned in neither the anime nor the manga. I've stared to post slower and slower, and really I don't have an excuse except for laziness, and my time has been occupied by another anime. **

**Okay, what do you think? Should L take Beyond out of jail and shall he become another character in The Unlikely Team? Because I haven't read Death Note: Another Note - The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases (Although I'd really like to) it would be a little difficult to make his character complete, but he would act similarly to how he did when talking to Katsuki and L. He'd be an interesting plot twister, I must admit. There's a poll on my profile page that you can answer!  
**

**So I hope this extra long chapter compensates for the lack of posting I've done. Compared to my first few days I posted, I've been terribly slow, and I'm sorry for that. But I will continue posting until I decide to wrap this story up, so don't start thinking I won't ever post again, even if I don't do anything for two, three, maybe even four or more days. **

**Thanks for sticking with me as I write this. I really appreciate all of the encouragements. Now all I need is for someone to slap me and get me to start writing a little faster so the wait isn't as bad.**

**~BurntPickle**


	14. Chapter 14- Freedom and Beyond

Chapter 14

"Oh, no you don't." Beyond grabbed my arm before I could step out of the cell.

I shot him a hateful glare. I knew he wanted out, but there was no way L would bail out such a psycho. He isn't _that_ crazy. "Let go, Beyond. You're a criminal. You deserve to stay here."

He stared straight at L. I wasn't sure, but I could've sworn there was a hint of desperation in Beyond's large eyes that looked exactly like L's. His hand was tightly clasped around my arm. So tight that his knuckles were white. It was cutting off the blood flow to my hand, which was already tingling.

"If she can work with you, why can't I? I was raised to think the same way as you were." Beyond said.

"Yes, but you also grew up to be an irrational murderer, which I'm not so interested in working side by side with." L spoke with a strange calmness in his voice that I wished I had.

"Yet you're buddies with Kira? How does that work out?" Beyond countered. I knew the argument would last forever. They were way too much alike. Too stubborn to let the other win. Too smart to be outwitted by the other. Too flat out identical for me to tell the difference between them except for the fact that one was inside the cell and the other wasn't.

"The discovery of Kira's identity is very new. Even though I was suspicious of him all along, there was no proof that I was right. But everybody knows it was you who killed your victims."

Beyond sighed and ran his finger along the edge of the jar to gather the remaining jam. "I could be very beneficial to you. You really are losing a rare opportunity." He licked the jam off of his finger while still eyeing L.

"Give me one reason how you would be of any use to us." L said.

Beyond chuckled. "I have the eyes."

"The eyes?" Both L and I repeated at the same time.

"The eyes of a Shinigami."

"What good does that do?" I asked. "I mean, I'm part Shinigami, so it's not like you're anything special."

"I can see the names and lifespans of anybody _except_ Kira. I'll only see his name, but not his lifespan. I don't know why, but it's the surest way of telling that your number one suspect is Kira."

"We already know he's Kira. All we need is proof to the court." L reminded.

"Exactly. You'll have two different witnesses." Beyond said and nudged me with an elbow. "Of course, my story would have to be changed around just a little bit, because I don't think anybody would like to try and explain Shinigamis to everyone in the court room. But if you have two witnesses, that's more of a chance they'll believe you, even if you don't have perfect proof."

I exchanged a glance with L. He looked as uncertain as I thought he would. Beyond was clearly a large threat, but he had the potential to end the entire Kira case once and for all. The killings wouldn't stop unless Light and Misa were both killed. I didn't like it, and I doubt anybody else did, but it was the only way. There might be other ways that they could kill while still being in jail.

"Fine. Your point is quite valid." L said reluctantly. "But one slip up or threatening move and you're back in here."

Beyond grinned. "Thanks."

* * *

I sat in the backseat of the van with Beyond. Watari drove and L rode shotgun. I was pressed as close to the door as I could get. I didn't know just how dangerous or unpredictable Beyond Birthday could be. I would've loved to have anything to defend myself with, but my hands were unoccupied.

Apparently L had trusted Beyond on the whole Shinigami eyes idea. It was quite an interesting story, and the whole idea of it sounded familiar to me. If L hadn't been sure that Shinigamis existed, he probably wouldn't have even listened to Beyond. But with the little enlightenment about the Gods of Death actual existence, it must've changed the way he thought.

"So, Beyond, if you really can see the lifespans of people, then tell me how long I have to live." I spoke up, breaking the dead silence inside the van.

He shook his head. "I can't do that. I'm not allowed to tell people how long they have left. It's all to prevent chaos in the human world. Or at least that's what the Shinigami told me." He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the seat with a smile tilting his lips. "Man, it's so much better in this car than it is in the jail. That place is disgusting."

"Well, no offense, but you could really use a shower. It's not good when you smell like a basement." I waved a hand in front of my nose and raised my shoulders innocently.

He rolled his eyes. "Well it's not like the place was as clean as it could be. You saw that spider."

"Yeah, I did. Up close and personal." I narrowed my eyes and scowled, remembering how he tossed the dead spider at me. If one thing scared the pee out of me, it was spiders. I wouldn't come anywhere near them, even if someone paid me to.

He laughed. "For someone who claims to be part Shinigami, you are quite a wimp."

My frown deepened. I opened my mouth to say something rude, but L interrupted before I could get myself killed.

"Katsuki, Beyond, do I need to separate you two?" L asked and flipped around in his seat.

"Yes." I said just as Beyond smiled and said, "No". I shot L's identical successor a glare, which he responded with a smirk. He was lucky I was restrained by the seatbelt, or else I might have had my fingers wrapped around his pale throat.

Watari chuckled and cleared his throat. "Now, children, please get along. We're almost there."

I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I focused on the window and stared out at the city as we drove through it. L also settled back in his seat and started to chat with Watari about something, but I wasn't actually listening.

I found it funny that the Kira investigation now had _two_ criminals working with them. I wasn't some huge, well known murderer like Beyond was, but I had done a few things wrong, so it counted. But I didn't know how to feel about Beyond's presence. I'd definitely be snatching a knife from somewhere and sleeping with it under my pillow, because that's just what people do when there's a maybe-retired murderer under the same roof as them.

Eventually my eyes fluttered shut without me even noticing. I didn't fall asleep, however. I just sort of sat there, listening to the hum of the tires constantly hitting the road.

"Katsuki Azuma…" I hear either L or Beyond whisper. I assumed it was Beyond because it was softly spoken but I could still hear it fairly easily. "So how did she do it?"

"Do what?" L asked in an even softer voice. At least they were being considerate. They could've yelled just to annoy me, but to my surprise they didn't.

"Become part Shinigami."

"I don't know. She doesn't know much, either. The Shinigami informing her, Ryuk, hasn't been doing a very good job at being descriptive. Either that or she hasn't been telling me everything she knows."

I searched my brain for anything I left out. I couldn't think of anything I forgot to mention. It was just the fact that Ryuk had only told me a few things.

The van came to a stop. I still kept my eyes shut, wondering what they would do. If needed I would pretend to wake up, but if they continued talking and I learned something useful, that would be great.

"What do we do with her?" Beyond asked as a finger poked my cheek. I almost tried to bite him. There was a moment of silence, maybe for time to exchange some glances, before Beyond started singing my name in a creepy way. "Katsuki… Katsuki…" I imagined him wiggling his fingers in front of my face, and I didn't even know it. "Wake up, Katsuki Azuma."

I groaned unhappily and opened one eye to glare at him. "Do you mind?"

He grinned and chuckled. "Good, you're awake. Let's get out."

All of the doors opened except mine, for I was pretending to be groggy. Everyone piled out, and finally I pulled my door open and climbed out.

"You're slow." Beyond commented as he walked towards the doors.

"Well you're an idiot!" I snapped back.

"Now, now, children…" Watari started, but neither of us listened. L just walked on inside without a word, but I did catch a little smirk on his lips. Damn him.

Beyond stopped just before walking inside and sneered back at me. "At least I'm not naïve."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Me, naïve? Where's your proof?"

"I don't need any. You're a walking, talking, piece of evidence."

I shot him a glare as I walked past him to go inside. I was beginning to realize how bad of an idea it was to have Beyond around. "I know it's not the best plan to try and argue with you, since for one thing you're too much like L, which means you can obviously outsmart me. A second thing is that you have the history of a murderer, and could possibly endanger my life. Of course, there's always the plan to go all Shinigami on your ass. I'm sure that would work."

He snickered and walked in a few paces behind me with his hands buried in his pockets. "I'd like to see you try. I can't imagine someone like you could even begin control your powers." He paused for a moment. "That is, if you have any."

A chill ran down my spine. I didn't even know how to use any kind of powers that I possessed. Hell, I didn't even know if I had any. Ryuk could've been out of his mind when he told me about all of that crap.

I stopped and turned to glare at him, but he only continued walking. He swerved around me without blinking an eye and moved on. "Why would I ever show you? Then you'd know what to expect if one day I decide to try and kill you like I did to Kira."

"Whoa, Ryuzaki, I didn't know you had a twin!" Matsuda came jogging down the stairs. His eyes were wide with an eagerness to say hello. _Just like a puppy,_ I thought. _Matsuda is a puppy._

"That's because he's isn't my twin." L took his position in front of the screens to stare at them. "He's a successor designed to basically become me in every way. But there was a problem…" L moved his gaze back at Beyond, who had just plopped down on the couch and replicated L's weird crouched position. "He decided to be stubborn and try to create a case that I couldn't solve. Given we're nearly identical, it was quite easy for him to confuse those who knew of my appearance."

"To make it simple for you," Beyond continued. "I have already surpassed L, and have become the world's greatest murderer."

Matsuda looked like he was about to faint. "So… we have a killer in here with us now?"

Everybody in the room, except Matsuda of course, nodded.

"He's simply here to help us prove to the court that Light really is Kira."

Matsuda cringed. "I'm still not comfortable knowing that Light is Kira. I mean, all this time and he was right next to us." He looked down at his toes with a sad expression on his face.

I had expected L to say, "I was telling you all along," but he didn't. Instead he just sat there, still staring at the screens.

"So, when do we plan on confronting the court?" I asked a question directed at L, but I was open to anybody's answer.

"Well, Light will still be healing for a little while, so I'd say we have about a week." Matsuda answered while scratching his head.

One week with Beyond Birthday under the same roof as everyone else. I couldn't have been the only one a little worried about that tiny detail.

"Speaking of the court, what should we do for Beyond's story? It's not like we can say that he has-" I cut myself off from saying anything about Shinigami eyes. Matsuda was in the room. He didn't know a thing about the Shinigami. That would be quite a load to dump on the puppy. First L's creepy successor, next all about Shinigami. It would be enough to keep anybody awake at night wondering just how much they didn't know.

L continued the conversation before Matsuda could asked why I suddenly stopped talking. "He'll just pretend to be a friend of Light's. A… a coworker, actually. I won't be there, I'll be speaking through a computer to hide my identity. However, Light doesn't know about Beyond being identical to me, nor does he know about him being a successor of mine. The court also doesn't know of my appearance. By me speaking through a computer it may confuse Light when he sees Beyond and he'll assume that he is me, and Light might start babbling in bewilderment, but he will have no proof of how I look, thus the court won't be able to call anyone out on it. Beyond will either pose as me or someone else.

"Of course, Katsuki, if he starts to mess things up, it's up to you to keep things going properly, for I won't be able to do anything about it because I will be a screen, and I doubt Beyond would obey without you threatening him."

"Wow, I see you've put some thought into this." I breathed, surprised at how fluently he spoke of his plan.

"Nice to see that you have some faith in me, L." Beyond spoke up.

"Beyond, you once made it your goal to completely frustrate me. I can't imagine that you're over that already." L replied coolly.

I snorted. "He got you there." I muttered to Beyond.

* * *

**Look's like Beyond is now a character! If anybody doesn't like that... well, that sucks for you, because I'm having a great time with a new character. I really need to toss a new OC in there, too, because let's face it; Katsuki can only handle so much publicity.**

**Kat: *Rolls eyes, not amused* "Is it really necessary for you to mock me _here_ too? You make me put up with Beyond all chapter, and now I have to act like I can stand you."**

**Pickle: "Oh please, you know you love me."**

**Kat: "Yeah, right. You keep telling yourself that." *Walks off***

**Anyway, I won't be updating for a little while unless I can pull another chapter out of my head by tomorrow night. I'm going on a short vacation for the weekend, and since I'll be with my family the entire time, I won't have a moment to write without them interrupting. However, I will brainstorm as much as possible and then puke my thoughts up on my keyboard as soon as I get back, which will either be Sunday or Monday, so I hope to have another chapter up by probably Tuesday, maybe Wednesday if it's taking a little longer.  
**

**~BurntPickle**


	15. Chapter 15- Gone

Chapter 15

I couldn't move, but I wasn't restrained. Was a paralyzed? I couldn't remember anything that could have possibly put me into this state. I didn't get into some extreme accident, did I? Hell, how was I supposed to remember what happened when I didn't even know where I was?

Speaking of… where was I?

Everything around me was dark. Oh wait… no… it almost looked like a dimly lit hospital room. How convenient. Maybe a doctor would explain all of this to me. I waited there, not really sure what part of the room I was in. Everything around me was very dark, but I could tell it was supposed to be a hospital room. The bubble of space all around just me was pitch black, like I was leaking with darkness.

Suddenly, everything went bleach white. I couldn't close my eyes or look away, so I had to endure the pain. After a few moments, the light faded back into the hospital room, but this time it was a much clearer image. Everything was lit perfectly, and the first thing I saw was Light standing on his feet in front of me. He hadn't been there before. I knew that for sure.

But Light wasn't facing me. His back was turned to me. I wanted to ask him what he was doing, but I couldn't get my lungs to operate. I was starting to feel panicked. Not being able to move was something that really, really scared me. I was completely vulnerable to anything.

Slowly Light turned until he could glare at me with one eye. I could tell something was in his hand, but I didn't know what it was. It was below my line of sight.

"Katsuki Azuma…" He growled. "You've ruined everything."

I was so confused. Light didn't seem to have a single bruise on him, which was strange, because I was sure I had given him quite a beating to the face.

His hand lifted to point a sharpened knife at my nose. The tip was centimeters away from my face. And I couldn't do a damn thing about it. His eyes were blazing with a mixture of anger and eagerness. Eager to do _what_, exactly?

A smirk tugged at his lips, and he turned on a heel to face me completely. The knife was still there, and I didn't really know what to think. I couldn't move to fight back or even run. I was just stuck standing there, paralyzed in place. What the hell was wrong with me?

"I'm going to end you." He whispered with glee twinkling in his eyes. "You're a terrible criminal who stands in the way of God."

Fear rocketed through my body, and I'm pretty sure I would've fainted if I could've. He dropped the blade low and then lunged forwards to plunge the knife deep into my stomach.

My body acted on its own. Blood came not only from the wound, but from my mouth, too. I choked on the liquid flooding my throat and doubled over to cough it out.

"Shit!"

My eyes shot open at the sound of my own voice shouting. I sat up, gasping for breath. My entire body shook. My hand flew to my stomach and I pulled up the bottom of my shirt to see if I was bleeding profusely. Lucky for me, I wasn't.

"Kastuki?" L - or maybe it was Beyond, I couldn't tell just yet - peered over his shoulder from his position in front of the computer to look at me with a puzzled expression on his face. "Is everything alright?"

I nodded gravely and pulled my shirt back over the pretend stab wound. It was all a dream. A nightmare, at that.

"What's up with you?" The other L-looking-person sat on the couch asked in the midst of devouring a jar of jam. That must've been Beyond. His obsession with strawberry jam was one of the few ways I could tell the difference between the two.

I shook my head. "Nothing."

Neither of them looked convinced, but apparently they understood I didn't feel like talking about it, and left me alone.

"What am I doing down here?" I asked, noticing I had been sleeping on the floor and not in bed.

"Everybody in the investigation was agreeing on our plan for Beyond when you all go to the court, and you fell asleep in the middle of it. Since nobody felt like carrying you, we just let you sleep." L explained.

"Oh, okay." I stood up and walked over to L's desk, snatched a sugar cube out of the mug of them he had sitting in front of him, and popped it into my mouth. "I'll be asleep upstairs."

I was halfway up the first flight of stairs when L said, "Hold on."

I stopped and gripped the handrail tightly. What did he want? I glanced over my shoulder and tried to sound pleasant. "Yes?"

"You seem a little off." Beyond responded instead.

"So?"

"What was that nightmare about?" He tilted his head to the side curiously.

I narrowed my eyes down at the two. "Nothing." I answered with a cold tone of voice to match my glare.

Apparently my tone didn't faze either of them. L continued on, "Really?"

"I don't believe that people suddenly awaken and shout foul words for no reason. Of course, we don't sleep for weeks at a time, so it could be that we're just a little unpracticed." Beyond shrugged. "However, you do appear quite frightened."

I pursed my lips and turned back to walk up the stairs. "It's nothing to be worried about. Nightmares aren't anything serious." _But they are unsettling._

"Also, Katsuki," L's voice stopped until I finally turned to look at him. "Ryuk stopped by while you were asleep. He said he had a few things to tell you, but he refused to say them to anyone else. I don't know the reason, but it's probably best if you listen to him the next time you see him."

I nodded. "Okay, thanks."

Beyond started to say something else, but I walked up the stairs instead of listening to whatever he had to say. I got the feeling that someone was waiting upstairs for me in my room.

* * *

I shut the door behind me and eyed the Shinigami on my bed. He looked as innocent as a Shinigami could pull off.

"What did you want?"

"You remember how you beat the snot out of Light, correct?"

I almost flinched, but instead just blinked and nodded once. "Yeah, why?"

"That was the beginning of your Shinigami powers. Apparently the rage you had within you unlocked a few of your powers, such as that strength. It's a very rare power that few can obtain, but it isn't a full-time thing. It only activates whenever you feel threatened or extremely angry."

"That's great and all, but what took you so long to figure this out?"

He groaned. "I can only talk so fast, and the other Shinigami can only remember so much. It takes time to piece together the information I gather from everyone in the Shinigami realm."

"Maybe you should start relating this information back to me, even if you have only a few snip-bits. Two minds working together is better than just one."

He sighed again. "Fine, whatever. But you're asking a lot of me."

"Like you have anything better to do. Light doesn't even remember you, or the Death Note."

He didn't speak after that, so I decided to try and calm down. "Is there anything else you found out?"

He perked up. "Yes. I heard that more signs of you being part Shinigami will emerge. Some will be more obvious than others."

"Like what?"

"Well, apparently, you might be getting a pair of wings eventually. Or maybe your body will grow only in certain areas, like your arms and legs will become super long, but not the rest of you. It's also possible that you could be like Beyond Birthday, and somehow get a pair of Shinigami eyes without the price of half of your lifespan."

"Half of my lifespan?" Why did that sound familiar, such as a lot of things did lately?

"Yes. If a possessor of a Death Note wants a pair of Shinigami eyes, which as you've heard can see the names and lifespans of anybody, except Kira and other Shinigami of course, all they have to do is give up half of their remaining lifespan."

"Okay then… So when do you think these… transformations… will begin?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Could be sooner than you think."

I ran a hand through my hair and craned my next to look at the ceiling. "And what happens after that?"

"You really think I know?"

I huffed and rolled my eyes. "Never mind, I guess I'll figure it out. Now tell me, why didn't you say that to L or Beyond? It's not like it affects them at all."

"Oh, right, about that."

"That? Didn't you just tell me 'that'?"

"No. It's about Light."

"What about Light?"

"He's gone."

"Gone? As in 'poof'?"

"Yes."

"Where could he have disappeared to?"

"I don't know."

I groaned. "Great!" I turned around and threw my door open. "Thanks Ryuk, you can go now if you don't have anything else to say."

"Perfect, I was getting a craving for apples."

* * *

I raced down the stairs, nearly tripping over my own feet at the same time. Light was gone? No, that's impossible. Nobody just leaves the hospital for no reason. Did he get his memory back? That would be great and terrible at the same time.

"L!" I barked and jumped down the last few stairs, mostly because I was about to fall flat on my face.

Both L and Beyond, who were still where I left them earlier, looked over.

"Yes?" L looked a little surprised by my sudden appearance.

"It's Light. He's gone." I blurted.

"What do you mean?"

I was actually out of breath from just running down the stairs. What a shame. "According to Ryuk, he's gone. Poof." I made a little explosion motion with my hands.

"Do you know where he went?"

I shook my head. "No, Ryuk didn't know either, unless the idiot Shinigami lied."

"Is that what he didn't want to tell us about?"

"I guess so. I don't see why not."

L sighed and swiveled around in his chair. "Let's go get everyone up. We have to find him."

* * *

"Where could he have gone?" Matsuda moaned as he took a drink of coffee. He was still dressed in his flannel pajama pants and loose fitting t-shirt, and so was the rest of the task force. "Oh man, this is bad."

"Matsuda!" The chief scolded. "Now is not the time to think negatively."

He looked down into his coffee. "Sorry, sir."

The chief looked extremely stressed. I couldn't blame him. His son was _Kira,_ who was now _missing. _Not good news to a father.

"When was the last anybody went to see him?" L asked as he nibbled his thumb nail. He looked around at everyone gathered in the main room. Even Beyond was allowed to attend.

"I saw him last at eight o'clock today." The chief answered. "That's when visiting hours ended."

"Good, then he can't possibly be too far."

"Wait a minute." I cut in and peeled myself away from the wall where I had been leaning against. "Has anybody seen Misa lately?"

Everyone looked around the room to see if they could find the blonde model, but she was nowhere to be seen.

"They didn't run away together, did they?" Matsuda asked, a worried look spilling into his eyes.

"Everyone, search Misa's room." L ordered. "Look for anything out of the ordinary. Katsuki, go with them. Beyond, Mr. Yagami, and I will stay here and watch the recordings from the cameras in her room that were taken in the past twenty-four hours to spot any suspicious behavior. If she was to run away, she's probably missing articles of loose fitting and unsuspicious yet unnoticeable clothing. Also, Amane might be missing large amounts of money in her account. I'll have Watari check her latest withdraws."

Nobody argued with L's decision. I raced up the stairs with the task force, save the chief, and we all burst into Misa's room.

The bed sheets were tossed onto the floor. Her drawers were thrown open and clothes were flung all other the place. I didn't know where she kept her Death Note, but I was sure that it was gone, too, along with Misa and Light. That is, if her memories weren't gone like Light's.

"Whoa…" Matsuda stopped at the door and took in the scene. I had been in Misa's room before. It was always tidy. There was no way she'd be able to sleep in a place in this condition.

I moved through her room and threw open her closet door. With only a quick sweep of the inside, it was easy to see she packed her bags and fled.

"Yep, it's official. She's gone." I said, turning around to confirm their suspicions.

"Oh no…" Matsuda whined. "We have to get them back!"

"Don't worry, we will." I waved a dismissive hand and then walked past them, and then I headed down the stairs to confront L, Beyond, and the chief.

When I got down there, they were all huddled around a computer. When they noticed me, they paused the recording and looked up.

"Well?" Mr. Yagami straightened his back to speak to me.

"She's definitely gone. The room is ruined."

Mr. Yagami slid a hand over his forehead in a stressed manner.

"Thank you, Katsuki." L responded for the chief. "According to Watari, she has slowly been taking out average sized amounts of money in her account, but they always small enough to be considered a budget for a shopping spree, or something. Apparently she had also been purchasing casual clothing for both men and woman for the past eight days."

"Which means she's been planning this with Light for some time." I concluded.

He nodded and then turned back to the screen. "Beyond and I will figure out when she left. You, Mr. Yagami, take the others to go searching the streets. It could be that they left recently. In Light's condition, they couldn't have gotten too far. Make a thorough search of the ten mile radius from the hospital. Unless they're driving, they're probably still in the city. Knowing Misa, she can't drive. And Light doesn't have a car, except for yours. And you have the keys, correct?"

Mr. Yagami dug into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. "Yes."

"Good. Someone as smart Light could always hotwire the car, but I can't imagine him doing something illegal. Being Kira and all…" L's voice trailed off, but I knew what he meant, and I bet the chief did too. Light wouldn't do anything illegal because he killed anybody who did. It would contradict himself way too much on a huge scale of contradicting.

The chief nodded and then lifted his head to address the other members of the task force. "Everybody get in the van. We're going to search for them."

* * *

**Back from the vacation! So, I have a confession.. I didn't think at all about Chapter 15 for the past days, and instead I got up this morning and winged it.**** Completely. I forced myself to continue writing so I could get you guys another chapter by tonight, and I'm even posting before our sundown. So, what do you think for my on-the-spot chapter? It's quite a change of pace from the rest of the story, but with the ending already in mind, I'm forcing myself to make more chapters so it isn't some short thing. I personally like reading _large_ finished fanfictions, not short ones with a quick ending. But if the story itself is good, yet short, I'll be content. But that's just my personally opinion.**

**Ugh, summer is almost over. I'll be piled the my knees in worry for my first year of high school in about two weeks. Yep, that's right, I'm only a freshman. Tell me, are you surprised? How old did you think I was just going off of my what has been in the past chapters. I know that my vocabulary isn't as vast as I'd like it to be, but I'm still learning.**

**Hopefully the next chapter will be coming sooner than this one did. I don't have anymore plans for this summer, so I'll be back to a regular updating pace here soon!  
**

**I sort of gave up on the new OC idea. Mostly because I couldn't think any new characters that would supply a good plot twist, and Beyond's welcome hasn't worn off just yet in my mind.**

**~BurntPickle**


	16. Chapter 16- The Wrong Chase

Chapter 16

I had my cheek pressed up against the window as I searched for anybody walking the streets. The streetlights weren't doing much good to help illuminate the roads. Everybody was positioned at a window. Earlier someone had said, "You're not allowed to even blink." I was sure it was a joke to try and lighten the mood, but it was possible that a few of the Task Force members took it seriously.

We drove through so many neighborhoods and down so many streets, but all were vacant. No lights were on in the houses. We were on our way to check Light's house, to see if his things were gone, too.

To tell the truth, I really wasn't worried about Light's safety. Maybe I would be a little down if Misa got hurt, but personally I couldn't care less if Light got hit by a monster truck. Specifically Grave Digger.

I didn't want to share my thoughts with anyone else, mostly because I knew they'd send me hateful glares and probably never speak to me again, which I wasn't really ready to put up with that forever. Everybody else loved Light, and they probably still were sulking from learning that Light really was Kira. L seemed to be the only one who was part of the original investigation that was able to hide his shock. Then again, he had been right all along, despite whatever proof was thrown at him that Light wasn't Kira.

I shut my eyes and sighed softly. Immediately after that, I realized that I was supposed to be watching for either of the two, and reluctantly opened my eyes yet again. I was exhausted. I needed my sleep. If I was tired, I became cranky. And when I became cranky, all hell would break loose until someone made me happy again. It's just how life worked.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Mogi pointed out of his window. Instantly everyone crowded around that one window, except for Mr. Yagami, who was driving.

"I think that's them!" Matsuda cried with a smile painting his face.

"Hold on…" Mr. Yagami growled before jerking the wheel to make a sharp left towards the two silhouettes we had spotted out of the window. Since I didn't have anything to grasp, I rolled and hit my back against the door on the opposite side. It hurt my back, which was still a little sensitive in certain places. It hurt, but I didn't have much time before the car skidded to a stop and my face was smashed into the seat in front of me.

"Everyone out!" Someone shouted. Before I knew it the doors were thrown open and somewhere in the mix I had been put back up onto my feet while I was still in a daze.

"Come on, Kat, what are you waiting for?" Matsuda called back as the Task Force ran ahead.

I shook my head and started running. I didn't know why we had to get out of the car, for I was just fine staying inside and pretending to charge them with the van, but I guess nobody else would've been okay with that.

I easily caught up with the adults. Many of them were struggling to run, probably due to age, stress, and fatigue. I was also tired, but since the majority of them weren't used to running through the streets like I was still accustomed to, I had an easier time.

By the time I managed to actually catch sight of the people running, the light from the van headlights was becoming dimmer by the step. There were two figures, but neither one of them looked female. And Misa had quite a noticeable shape to her, even in baggy clothes. Also, both of them looked larger – bulkier – than Light. But nonetheless, I continued running. There was no use in taking chances.

"Get your asses back here!" I shouted when they didn't slow down.

Through the dim lighting, I saw one of them swing an arm high over their head and point at me. Sign language? Seemed kind of weird when-

My thoughts stopped completely when a gunshot echoed through the night, and a bullet flew past me, even snagging a few strands of my hair. I yelped and stumbled in surprise before falling to my hands and knees, trembling in shock.

"Stupid!" I snarled down at the ground. "I'm so stupid!" How could I have not realized that they were aiming a gun at me? Nobody points at their pursuer because the other person doesn't realize it! Nobody! And because of my stupidity, I almost got killed! But that wasn't like Light, and Misa would never hold a gun. I'd never seen Light pointing a gun, either, but I didn't think that he would shoot at me, especially when I could go all Shinigami on his ass. Maybe.

"Katsuki, are you alright?" The chief knelt down beside me and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

"Only my pride…" I mumbled and leaned back into a sitting position. "Hey Chief, are you sure those two are Light and Misa? Because they seemed kind of out-of-character. Or is that just me?"

The rest of the Task Force ran past us. The chief was silent for a few breaths before sighing. "I don't know. But even if they aren't, we need to catch them. If they have a gun on them, then they probably aren't up to any good."

I nodded and stood up, and so did he. We didn't waste time in going back after the two. I was a little shaken up, but other than that I was fine. Oh, and my knees felt scraped up from falling, but that could wait until later.

"Hey, Katsuki." Ryuk suddenly dropped beside me and flew at my pace.

"Could this wait?" I hissed to him in a whisper. What did the damn Shinigami need at such a time?

"I guess, but I'd rather tell you now."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine, go on if you must."

"It's about your powers, or powers to be." He paused for a second, as if expecting an answer I wasn't going to give him. "It's possible that your powers have already activated, and now all you have to do is figure out how to use them."

"Great…" I breathed and ran harder. I didn't care about powers right now. Heck, I didn't want to hear about them at all. I'd rather go back to believing that I was human. That was so much easier.

Despite that I was now more intimidated and scared of being shot, I still managed to catch up to the rest of the Task Force. They didn't have superb stamina, and were clearly slowing down. Why couldn't this have waited? We had bigger problems, like two Kiras on the loose.

Suddenly the two split up, running down two different alleys in separate directions. My steps stuttered as my confusion got in the way.

"Katsuki, Mogi; go after the one that went left. Aizawa, Matsuda, you come with me to go right!" The chief barked an order just in time before I decided to keep going straight because I couldn't make up my mind.

I turned on my toes and darted down the alley. Mogi was a little ways behind me. I wasn't planning on slowing down for him, in fear that I might lose track of the guy I was supposed to be following. I knew my way around town. If I really needed to go back to headquarters, I could figure it out on my own.

"Katsuki, don't go off on your own! He's armed and you're not!" Mogi called, but I ignored him. Yes, he might've been armed. And yeah, it probably wasn't the best decision in my life. But did I care? No! I wasn't going to let whoever this guy was just waste the time I could've spent searching for Light and Misa, and then getting back the headquarters, and going to sleep. But no, he was making me stay up for longer than required, and I was pissed.

As I ran, I pictured the layout of the city in my head. If I was right, we were heading towards a fairly vacant street. If I was wrong and completely turned around, we were heading towards a dead end. Either way, there probably weren't going to be many people there to witness anything bad, so I could make an idiot of myself and still walk through the streets without a problem. Unless, of course, I lost a leg or something in some freak accident that probably wouldn't even happen. But the chances of that happening weren't too big.

Looking ahead, I saw one flickering street light. Yep, I was right. We were heading towards the street. There wasn't much around the street except for old apartments and unkempt basketball courts. I could probably corner the guy somewhere and gain some kind of advantage on him, as long as he didn't know where he was going.

But then he did something I didn't like: He turned before reaching the end of the street and started climbing up the side of the building. The stupid idiot could do freaking parkour. I was screwed now. Why? I was scared of heights.

I know, I know. I was some BA part-Shinigami girl, and I was afraid of heights. Err, I guess I was more afraid of falling off of those high edges, but those two phobias go hand-in-hand.

I skidded to a stop and looked up at the guy scaling the wall with ease. I didn't trust my body to keep me from slipping. Just imagining trying to climb up there sent shudders down my spine.

"Heh, heh, heh. Looks like somebody has run into a little bit of trouble." Ryuk mocked.

"Shut up." I muttered and gripped the first ledge I could reach with a hand. The rough concrete hurt the skin on my hands, and I knew it would be rubbed raw after this. I had little experience with climbing, kudos to my common fear, so the skin on my hands was as delicate as possible. In hindsight, I probably should've faced my fears long ago, but I was too big of a baby and loved staying on the ground more than sitting perched in a tree.

Carefully I hoisted myself up and positioned my feet on the sturdiest thing I could reach. He was putting a big space in between us just because I was panicking about being two feet off the ground.

"Katsuki, what are you doing?" Mogi stopped and asked.

"He went that way." I said, motioning upwards with my chin. I didn't dare take my hands off of the wall unless I had my next move in sight.

"We can take the stairs!"

"There are stairs?!" I looked back over my shoulder.

He nodded. "Inside there are bound to be."

"But what if the doors are locked?"

He frowned. "I'll go check."

He disappeared behind the corner, but I didn't wait. I reached up and grasped the next thing I could, and continued to climb upwards. I had my body pressed against the wall as close as I could get.

"_Spiderman, Spiderman,_

_Does whatever a spider can._" I singed in a soft, high pitched voice as I climbed to keep my mind off of the fact that I was higher than I preferred to be.

_"Spins a web, any size,_

_catches thieves just like flies._

_Look out! Here comes the Spiderman._

_"Is he strong?_

_Listen bud,_

_He's got radioactive blood._

_Can he swing from a thread?_

_Take a look overhead._

_Hey there,_

_There goes the Spiderman._

_In the chill of night_

_At the scene of a crime_

_Like a streak of light_

_He arrives just in time._

_Spiderman, Spiderman_

_Friendly neighborhood Spiderman_

_Wealth and fame_

_He's ignored_

_Action is his reward._

_To him, life is a great big bang up_

_Whenever there's a hang up_

_You'll find the Spider man."_

By the end of my little performance, I was nearly at the top, to my surprise. I had really hoped nobody was hearing me singing, because I had a terrible voice, and the shaking my pitch was doing was definitely not scoring me any points.

Finally I threw myself over the side and rolled onto the top. I was gasping for breathing, shuddering uncontrollably, and about to pass out, but I made it. And for the record, I would not ever do it again.

When I looked up, I saw the guy in a crouched position, pulling something out from the side of his pants. I wasn't the quietest in my adventure of climbing up the side, so he had obviously known I was coming the entire way.

"Spiderman? Really?" He chuckled and pointed his arm towards me. Out of experience, I knew it was a gun. See? I caught on fast.

"Hey, don't mock the superheroes! When you need a hero, guess he won't be there for you? Yeah, that's right. Spiderman. He'll be peeing on your grave, in fact."

He snorted. "You're awfully witty for someone scared of heights." He started to creep closer. "It would be a shame if I just… pushed you."

"Yeah, it really would." I agreed with a shaky nod. I couldn't help but look back over the edge. I didn't have time to guess how many stories I was up before I got too scared of falling over just from looking, and I turned my attention back to the guy who held a gun only a few short feet away from me.

"Katsuki!" Mogi shouted as he burst up from some trapdoor in the roof and climbed out. "What are you-?"

Just as I flicked my gaze over to Mogi, the guy's finger twitched just slightly, and the sound of a gunshot killed my ears.

* * *

**"Cue dramatic noise!" *Dun... dun... DDUUUUNNN!* Oh no, Katsuki! Haha, feel free to hate me for what I've done. Not only have a left you at a cliffhanger, but I've also put Katsuki's life in danger yet again. I tend to do that a lot, now that I look back. I'm surprised nobody had tried to kill me with the amount of crap I put the characters through. Now that I think about it... L hasn't had anything bad happen to him...**

**Nah, I'm just kidding. L's gonna be just fine. Well, for now.**

**Jeez, I feel like one of those evil villains! Huh, it's not so bad. I might take up the job some day. **

**Anyway, just wanted to say that I don't own the lyrics to the Spiderman song, or even Spiderman himself. Those lyrics are from the Spiderman theme song from the old cartoon, and for whatever reason Kat knows them by heart.**

**I'm eager to write the next chapter, so it might be up a little sooner! *Throws confetti* Yay for you readers! But my poor fingers probably want to choke me in my sleep. **

**~BurntPickle**


	17. Chapter 17- Endless Invisibility

Chapter 17

"Katsuki!" Mogi's cry echoed throughout the night, but I could barely hear it. My heart was thudding in my chest so hard I started to believe it broke all of my ribs. My mouth was agape with shock. I looked back over at the guy who shot me, but I ended up glancing over his shoulder to see Ryuk standing there in a slouched position, cackling with glee. For whatever reason, I had yet to find out.

I expected to feel pain, but to my surprise the only thing that hurt were my hands from climbing. Sure, I was trembling a whole bunch from fear, but I wasn't hurting that much.

The guy who had shot me looked totally shocked. His mouth hung open wider than mine, and his eyes were as round as the moon.

I looked down with a frown, but there was nothing there. No blood, no bullet, no nothing. Just me.

"Katsuki?" Mogi looked around, looking completely lost. The other guy also started to look around in confusion. "Where did she go?"

"I'm right here." I waved a hand to catch their attention, but that didn't seem to do the trick.

Okay… was I dreaming again? I pinched my arm with my fingers, and I felt the pain. Then why couldn't they see me?

I stood up cautiously and focused my attention on Ryuk. "What's going on?"

He laughed again. "I didn't expect _this _to happen." He replied, but he didn't sound nearly as worried as I felt. Nobody seemed to be able to see me, except for Ryuk. How was that good?

"Ryuk!" I warned. "Explain this!" I motioned to myself with a frantic hand.

"Well, Shinigami can't be seen by humans unless someone touches the Death Note given to us."

The gears in my mind started turning, but I was still so confused.

He groaned. "Must I spell it out to you? They can't see you because they haven't touched your Death Note."

I nearly fainted on the spot. I did fall back a few steps, and my jaw was long gone. "What?!" I shrieked. "You're kidding! Please be kidding."

"Nope."

I moaned unhappily and curled up into a ball right where I stood. There was a lot I could take. I could live on the streets. I could hold my own in a fight. I could put up with an annoying Shinigami. I could live with knowing I was part Shinigami. Heck, I could even learn that somebody – No, _two somebodies _– I knew were Kira. But being invisible to the world and forced to live my entire life without being seen by anybody? No, that was too much. I had been pushed over the edge.

I pulled my legs against my chest and buried my face in between my knees. And then I screamed. Nobody except Ryuk could hear me, anyway, so what difference did it make if I started sobbing or not? I was even rocking back and forth.

I sat there in my little ball of sadness and panic for quite a long time. I didn't even think or anything. I just sat there trying to calm down, but it wasn't happening. I was scared. Yes, I'll admit it, I was scared. I was tired, scared, and felt extremely lonely all of the sudden. I hadn't felt such a desire for company in a long time. The last time I felt this way was when my parents had died.

But what scared me even more was myself. Why wasn't I acting all nonchalant like I wanted to? Why couldn't I just brush this news off of my shoulder like I had done all my life? I wasn't the type of person to break down, but look at me! I was pathetic.

After a while lifted my head and wiped my eyes. Mogi and the guy who had supposedly shot me were gone. Was I dead, then? Did he shoot me and kill me just like that, and now I was a Shinigami for the rest of my days? That made sense. A lot of sense. I hated it. It almost made me want to go back to not understanding anything.

"Ryuk?" I looked over and asked in a very weak voice. "Am I dead?"

"No." He replied sincerely, which surprised me since I had expected something snooty to come out of his weird mouth. "Like I said before, you powers could have already been activated and all you needed to do is learn how to work them. Like a Shinigami, you can make yourself materialize at any time you wish. The second before you were shot, your body lost all mass, and that's when they weren't able to see you. The bullet flew through you and went elsewhere, and you weren't harmed at all."

I didn't respond. My stomach felt horribly upset. I wanted to throw up all over the place. Lucky for me, I hadn't eaten anything in a few hours, so if I did throw up I probably wouldn't make _too_ big of a mess. Maybe that's why I felt sick; I was just hungry. Being a teenager and all, I did need to eat a lot. Did Shinigami require food? I remembered Ryuk saying something about his organs being useless and he just liked the taste of apples, but did that apply to me, too? Were my organs shriveling up and dying like his?

I couldn't help but do a once over of myself to check the lengths of my limbs. Everything looks regular. My arms weren't super long and I wasn't all boney. Was that a good sign? I hoped.

"Do you think I'll start looking as ugly as you?" I asked, not even realizing I was saying something mean.

"Hey! Just because I'm a Shinigami doesn't mean I don't have feelings."

"Oh, uh… sorry…" I gave him an apologetic smile that probably looked totally fake.

He grumbled something under his breath that I couldn't understand and then continued talking. Could Shinigami place curses on people or other Shinigami? For my sake there better not have been able to.

"I can't tell you that because I don't know." He answered.

I twisted my lips and rested my chin on my knees. "Okay then, here's another question: How do I get other people to see me again? Do they have to touch my Death Note? Or, a Death Note that I'll call mine?"

"If I'm right, being only part Shinigami, when you are materialized you should be able to be seen by anyone. If someone was to touch a Death Note that belonged to you, they'd be able to see you at all times, even when invisible to everyone else. I can't promise this as correct, but it's my best guess."

I nodded slowly. It sounded about right, but what did I know? I was still flipping out about everything that happened. My throat was still choked up. I knew that the moment I felt at ease, the tears would be flowing. I had never been a crier, but everybody needed a good sob attack every once and awhile.

"So how do I materialize?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. The skill comes natural to us pure Shinigami."

I groaned. "Great…"

I was not happy about this, if it wasn't obvious. It's not like I had anybody who I wanted to be around at all times, but I certainly didn't want to go every day unable to be seen unless I tapped somebody with a page of some Death Note that I would somehow figure out how to own.

Now was one of those moments when I wished I had a mom to give me a hug. Because that's what I needed. A hug. I hated to admit it, because I could _feel_ the remaining drops of my pride dripping out of my eyes. Or were those tears? _Both_, I decided. _I'm trying tears of lost pride. Ooh, that sounded deep._

"Do you know anybody who can help me materialize?"

"There aren't a set of steps you take. The best advice I can give you is to just will yourself to reform."

Oh, and I wasn't doing that already? I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. _Alright, here goes…_

_Become visible. Rematerialize. Be seen. Feel the materialization… Need the materialization… Be materialized…_

I opened my eyes and waved my arms like a bird. I didn't know if I was see-able or not.

"Did it work?" I looked up at Ryuk hopefully.

"No." He replied.

"How can you tell?"

"You don't have a shadow." He pointed to the ground with a lanky arm.

"How could I have a shadow? It's the middle of the night."

"Well there's the moon…"

I pursed my lips and thoughts about that answer for a moment before letting my shoulders drop. "Oh, I guess you're right." I craned my neck to look up at the huge full moon. It was shining as brightly as ever. I bet everybody could see _it_.

Okay, something was definitely wrong with me. I was getting jealous of the moon.

I looked over my shoulder. Where had Mogi gone off to, anyway? He probably grabbed the guy and started dragging him back to meet with the others. Then what would they do? Probably get somebody else to deal with those two and then continue looking for Light and Misa. That sounds like something they'd do.

Maybe that's what I'd do: go and search for them on foot. It wouldn't be much help to anybody else since I probably couldn't tell them, but I'd still be able to watch over them and confiscate their Death Notes if they had them. Well, that is, if Light had his memories. If Misa had hers, she'd probably get Light to remember everything. That'd be fucking fantastic.

I forced myself to get up and slap the dust off of my thighs. "Alright, let's go."

"Go where?" Ryuk perked up.

"To search for Light and Misa. And you're staying with me."

He didn't respond for a moment. He just stared at me with a blank expression. Then finally, "Will there be apples involved?"

* * *

They were nowhere to be seen. For the past two hours I had been searching through every nook and cranny I could find, but they were gone. Gone! No traces at all! My legs were sore, I was yawning constantly, and I felt bad for Ryuk because I was cranky. Not a fun combination for anyone.

"Do you know where they went?" I asked Ryuk and looked over my shoulder at the Shinigami who was in hog heaven. We had come across an orchard, and it happened to have his favorite fruit growing on some trees. I couldn't stop him with he decided to take the entire tree. Yes. Ryuk was carrying an entire apple tree. Luckily it wasn't any bigger than he was, but I was still afraid of him wielding it around and stabbing me. To anybody else there was just an apple tree floating through the street, losing a fruit every few seconds. Since I was already bitchy enough, I decided to just let him do what he wanted. I didn't care what other people saw.

With a full mouth, he responded, "Nope. It's not my job to keep track of him anymore since he doesn't have my Death Note on him."

Was that good or bad?

"Does Light have his memories back?"

"That's impossible, unless a few pages of this Death Note are missing. Only when he is touched by the Death Note that he used will he regain those memories. If he touches a different notebook, then he will only see the Shinigami that owns it, and nothing else."

"Oh, good. Don't let him touch that notebook until I say so. Got it?"

"I don't _have_ to listen."

"And I don't _have_ to let you carry that tree and totally give away our invisibility."

With his mouth hung open, he pulled the tree closer to him in a defensive way. Strange how he was basically in love with that tree. Too bad it was dead, now.

"That's what I thought." I muttered and looked ahead of us. It was still dark, and it would be for a few more hours.

I wish I had some wings. I'd be able to cover so much more ground that way. But I didn't feel anything protruding from my back. A disappointment in itself.

What was the Task Force doing right now? Were they still searching for Light and Misa, or did they change to try and find me? I wanted to tell them I was okay and just invisible for the time being, but Ryuk hadn't told me any ways of doing that. Maybe I could leave a note of some sort, but nobody else but L and Beyond would understand if I told them that my Shinigaminess acted up.

Then another thought hit me: What if I wasn't back to normal by Light's trial? I was one of their two witnesses. They couldn't afford to lose me. Nobody else had witnessed Light telling them that he was Kira, except Misa I guess, but she'd never talk. Maybe the trial would be moved back a week or two. They _were_ missing the suspect.

"Where could they be?" I whined out loud.

"Dunno." Ryuk murmured over the sound of crunching fruit.

I wanted to bang my head against a wall, but that would waste time and energy. I was never good at finding people when they were necessary, but when I didn't need someone they'd constantly pop up.

Closing my eyes, I breathed in the midnight air. It didn't feel too terrible outside, so that was good. I was lucky it wasn't freezing out, or then I'd probably give up and go to sleep somewhere. My tolerance lever was dropping by the second. One more annoyance and I'd lose it.

I opened my eyes again, only to be immediately blinded by a light. I made a strange noise of anger and surprise that sounded like a dying cat and shielded my eyes. I moved my hand to cover up the source of the light, and realized that it was a car driving towards us.

"Put that tree down." I ordered.

Reluctantly Ryuk dropped the tree, but it was right next to his feet. I doubted he'd go much further without it.

As the car got closer, it slowed down. They couldn't see us, for all I knew, but they probably saw the tree dropping. That was my plan. I wanted a ride, so if they could come to a stop, I could take a seat on top and hold on for dear life while they chaperoned me around town.

The car rolled to a stop, and the driver climbed out. I didn't give myself time to size up the driver, but instead darted over to the car, pulled myself up onto the hood, and then took a seat on top of the sunroof, which could be seen through. If there was anything good in there, that'd be great. I peered down, hoping to see maybe a coffee or something, but instead I saw something a little more intriguing.

…A Death Note…

* * *

**Since on the last chapter, we got more views on that chapter than ever before (A little more than 300 views on the entire story itself over the past two days) I decided to go ahead and post this chapter sooner than planned instead of making you guys wait! Also, I was eager to write the next chapter, and I'm incredibly impatient at times. I can't promise the next chapter will be out early, but I'll do my best to get it out sooner rather than later.**

**I'm thrilled to have seventeen chapters up already. I hadn't expected to love writing a fan-fiction so much, but somehow I ended up getting addicted. I'm planning on writing different fan-fictions in the future, but I'll probably finish this one first before taking on another. My main goal when starting was to improve my writing skills and get comfortable with my style, or maybe find an entirely new one. **

**Can't wait to write for you guys again :)  
**

**~BurntPickle**


	18. Chapter 18- If You Could Only See

Chapter 18

I immediately rolled over onto my belly and pressed my face up against the glass. Another Death Note? And who just sets it out for anyone to see? Well, in their defense, nobody was outside at such an hour except for me.

"Who does that belong to, Ryuk?"

"That one…" He gradually slid through the side of the car to touch the Death Note. "Is Misa's."

"Misa's? But why doesn't she have it?"

"Who knows?" He floated up to sit on the trunk of the car. "It could be that she has also forgotten her works as the second Kira, and now someone else had picked the Notebook up."

"Ryuk, I need you to tell me the truth. You were with Light almost every moment of the day, except to talk to me. I think. Did he plan this with Misa ahead of time?"

He didn't respond. He just stared at me with that blank face of his.

I groaned and rolled my eyes while shaking my head back and forth slowly. "Never mind. Your silence implies that they did. Either way, I need to get a hold of that Death Note. First of all, we need to talk to the Shinigami who owns it. Also we need to keep it for evidence or something."

"Then take it." Ryuk said casually. "It is possible to steal someone else's Death Note. That man, who I assume is the owner of it now, will still have ownership for 490 days if you take it from it. But he probably won't think to come to the police station to find something he kills with."

I nodded and looked over at the owner. He was standing up from his crouched position in front of the tree. He'd definitely notice a floating notebook if I tried to get into the car and take it, but I had to get the Death Note away from him. He could possibly kill hundreds, if not thousands of innocent people. And it didn't hurt to doubt your sanity every once and awhile.

I was out of time to come up with a different plan. I had to go with the first one I could come up with, and I hadn't even thought it out completely yet.

I leaped off the car and landed in front of the front door. And then, not giving a damn if he saw the door open or not, I pulled on the handle and swung the door open before leaning in and snatching the Death Note out of the car.

Turning on a heel, I darted away with the Death Note in my hand. Ryuk was flying after me, cackling loudly as we ran. I looked over my shoulder to see the old owner with his mouth agape. He was staring at the door, dumbfounded. I chuckled to myself and turned back around to run harder. That guy probably thought he was going insane. First a moving tree, next an opening door. I should've stayed around to toy with him, but there wasn't enough time.

It felt great to run again. Even though my legs were killing me and I was wondering if my knees would give out soon, it still was nice to go fast.

After running through the city and taking many different turns, I stopped beside a closed gas station and leaned against one of the walls to paw through the pages.

After regaining my breath for a minute or so, I said, "So this is Misa's Death Note, huh? You've got Light's, and I've got Misa's. We can easily make them remember everything if we choose to, for whenever we're at the trial." I smiled and giggled quietly. This was great. We would win. Now we not only had witnesses, but written proof. There was no chance the court wouldn't see it in our favor.

"What's got you so happy?" Ryuk asked and stood in front of me with his head cocked to the side.

I looked up at him, still grinning. "Ryuk, have I ever told you that I _love_ winning a fight that would be deemed impossible for me?"

* * *

The sun turned the insides of my eyelids red. I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter and stirred from my slumber. I lifted a hand to block the sun and squinted my eyes open. When had I fallen asleep? Apparently sometime last night. I was rested against the same wall as before, and the Death Note was clutched to my chest.

I groaned and stood up, yawning in the process. The sun was just barely beginning to peak over the horizon, but it was enough to wake me up. A beautiful sunrise, I had to admit, but now wasn't the time to admire sunrises.

I looked down to check for a shadow. Nope, it didn't come from me, but it did come from the Death Note, which meant people could see it. Well, shit.

"Ryuk, how do I hide this?" I said, holding up the notebook.

I didn't get a response. Confused, I turned around, looked up, and frowned. He was gone. The damn Shinigami wasn't there anymore.

"You've got to be kidding. He leaves me at a time like this?" I slapped my palm against my forehead and decided to just go ahead and slip the Death Note under my shirt. Looking back down at my shadow, it became clear to me that unless I became the owner of the notebook, it wasn't going to be invisible to anyone.

Nothing was going right these days. I couldn't seem to catch a break. When something good happened, something bad decided to roundhouse kick me in the ass and knock me down again. It wasn't fair. Did life get a laugh at watching me get my hopes up over and over again, and then having them smashed to the floor like a piece of birthday cake? I didn't find it nearly as funny.

I threw my head back in frustration and started marching away. No, I wouldn't let this whole invisibility problem ruin everything. In fact, I could use it to my advantage. I could scream at Light and nobody would know. It'd be perfect for spying on people, right? I could work around it.

* * *

Five hours later, though, I wasn't so optimistic. In fact, I was about to cry again. I was sore, hungry, thirsty, had to pee, and angry. Oh, and lost. I also needed a shower. Man I was a whiny.

I wasn't in the middle of nowhere, thankfully, but I definitely had no clue where in hell I was. Ryuk was still absent for whatever reason, but I wasn't really mad about that anymore. While walking for five hours, I realized that he would just be annoying and a bother. Maybe it was better if he wasn't here.

I gave up on trying to hide the Death Note a long time ago. It was pointless. There was nowhere to hide it on me, and I certainly wasn't putting it somewhere and coming back to it. Even I am smart enough to know not to put a weapon of death out for anybody to find. Not many people were outside walking around yet, and I was sticking to shadows and back roads.

Suddenly I stopped in front of an alley. Something had caught my eye, but I wasn't sure what. I peered through the darkness with squinted eyes, and managed to make out two dark figures.

"Light, are you sure?" A soft voice whispered from inside the alley. "We can still go back."

Misa! Ohmigod, I found them!

"No, Misa, we can't go back. Not when they accuse us of being killers. We haven't done a thing wrong for them to possibly think that we could kill so many people. Besides, we're already all the way out here. There's no point in heading back."

"Okay, if you say so."

Where were we? I needed to get back to Headquarters and tell L about it. I didn't have a cell phone to call them with, and I didn't even know if it would work or not. I didn't see Ryuk calling up Light anytime. Maybe that's why Shinigami had wings, so they could travel places faster and not have to rely on the technology.

"Why are you spying on Misa?" A monotone voice asked from behind me.

I screamed and whirled around, not expecting for anyone to be able to see me. I backed up from the white, boney thing slouching before me. It looked like a giant skeleton with white and purple hair. And purple lips, too. At least she (I thought it looked more like a girl than a guy) had the courtesy to put on some lipstick before approaching me.

"Who are you?" I asked quickly.

"My name is Rem. I am a Shinigami." She spoke in a very boring voice, and just by looking at her, I could tell she didn't have much of a sense of humor. Unlike Ryuk and his crooked smile, her lips were drawn in a line. I thought smiling made you live longer. I guess Shinigami could live forever if they wanted to, so happy faces didn't make much of a difference.

"The owner of… this?" I raised my hand with the Death Note in it.

"Yes. How did you get a hold of that notebook?"

"Oh, uh… I umm… I stole it." I grinned with a smile that said, _"You're not mad. Aren't I cute?"_

I thought I heard a sigh escape from her mouth, but I wasn't sure. "If you do anything to Misa, I will kill you, Katsuki Azuma. I know what you are, but that does not mean you are not invincible."

I flinched. Did she adore Misa or something? And how did she know what I was? Ryuk. He was the only other one who would say. Beyond probably didn't care to tell rumors to a Shinigami, and L wouldn't tell anyone else. Ryuk was the only other person – thing – that knew about me being part Shinigami.

I narrowed my eyes and I felt my lips twitch. "By letting Light keep her out here is putting her in danger. She could be attacked, or even killed, by some random gang."

She didn't respond, but instead flicked her thin pupils over to where Light and Misa were crouched in the alley.

"But you know what would be great?" I started again, worried that she might actually try to kill me for whatever reason. I didn't know if Shinigami could kill in other ways except via Death Note, but I wasn't about to attempt to find out.

Rem looked back over at me with that same emotionless face. I don't think even her eyes would tell me if she was happy or not. I guess I wasn't wrong for assuming all Shinigami were ugly. They were a chunk of walking death. Literally.

"If you gave me a ride home." I winked with another hopeful grin.

* * *

Man, I was so good at convincing Shinigami to do things for me. I was beaming when she dropped me out front of Headquarters. I turned and waved to her as she started flying away without a word. "Thanks Rem!" I wasn't sure if she was doing me a favor because she liked me or because she thought I was annoying, or maybe she even wanted me away from Misa. Either way, I was home, I was happy, and dammit I had to _pee._

But there was one problem. When I was trying to get inside, the door wouldn't open. I actually banged my face against the glass, which I was sure alerted anybody inside. Frustrated, I took a step back and jumped up and down in place to try and activate the sensors. Nothing happened despite my struggles, and the need to pee wasn't going away.

I groaned and approached the doors and put the Death Note underneath my chin before digging my fingernails into the little crack in between the doors. With some effort, I got the doors to move apart a little bit. I peeked inside, but it didn't look like anybody was in the main room. With a sigh of relief I pulled the doors apart just enough for me to slip inside. The doors shut behind me, and I carried the Death Note in a more comfortable manner in my hands.

I didn't waste any time. I dashed up the stairs and into the bathroom. Everything else could wait a few seconds while I went pee.

All satisfied (except for the hungry, thirsty, sore, and grimy part), I left the bathroom, not even caring if the toilet made noise. I was really dying to talk to someone other than a Shinigami. Usually I wasn't the lonely type, but apparently I wasn't cool with being invisible.

I made my way down the stairs and flopped down onto the ground because I was too tired to try and make it all the way to one of the chairs. I stared at the Death Note, contemplating if I should use it or not. If I killed Light and Misa, no doubt that Rem would come and end me in the most painful way possible. But wouldn't it be worth it? We were giving them time to think of a plan to outsmart us, when I could easily just write their names down and end it all. But there was one problem… I was scared. I didn't have a death wish. I knew it was selfish to treasure my life over those killed, and it gave me a sick feeling in my gut. Would L sacrifice himself? By going into this case, he was already preparing to die at any moment. Of course he was cool with sacrificing himself.

I closed my eyes and banged my forehead against the floor. I didn't want to cry, but I felt the back of my throat burning. I gnawed on my lower lip until it was raw and hurt too much to bite.

Suddenly the doors opened up, and the Task Force, L, and Beyond all walked inside. They looked as tired as I felt, with bags under their eyes and still in their pajamas. But Beyond and L looked perfectly normal, since they always had bags under their eyes.

"Aw man, still no sign from any of them!" Matsuda whined. "First Light and Misa, and now Katsuki. What are we going to do?"

I sat up and sighed softly, wishing I could talk to them. It hurt that I was just realizing how much I was warming up to them. They weren't just coworkers now. They were my new family. Or maybe only I felt that way because I had never really experienced a loving family, and I was craving any kind of affection, even if it was just a small smile.

"Wait a minute…" L stopped and stared direction at the Death Note I had sitting on the floor in front of me. He shuffled over and crouched right beside me to pick it up. I opened my mouth to say something, but no words came out. It's not like he could hear me anyway.

As soon as his fingers brushed against the notebook, he stiffened. I took in a sharp breath and didn't even try to not let my hopes shoot through the roof.

* * *

**Ah, sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. It was more of just a filler to make you readers wait a little longer for anything good to happen to poor Kat.**

**Ugh, school here starts in two weeks. The rate of posting is going to go down. Homework, brother's sports, and a little friend time is going to cut in to any kind of time I have to write. But I'm not going to make you guys wait entire months to get a post. This is just a guess, but it'll probably slow down to probably only one post a week, unless I get my butt in gear and write faster.**

**Not much to say about this chapter, except for the fact that I'm excited to write the next one. I want to jump to the good parts all the time. It's like torture making myself wait.**

**~BurntPickle**


	19. Chapter 19- Yet Again

Chapter 19

I looked over at the rest of the Task Force, but all of their eyes were on L. Could they… not see me?

I could _feel_ my heart shattering inside of me. My hope drowned in the sorrow that poured into me all at once. The tears spilled over onto my cheeks, and I stood up. Nope, they still didn't look over. I even walked over and reached out and flipped Beyond off right in front of his face. He didn't even notice.

I was afraid to touch them. Would they feel it? I didn't want to scare them, since they weren't familiar with the whole Shinigami thing. I'd hate to have to sit through and watch L try to explain the phenomenon to them.

"Ryuzaki, what is that?" The chief asked, stepping forwards. Our shoulders almost brushed as he moved. I was so close, yet they had no idea. I swiped at the tears and turned slowly to watch.

L stood up with the Death Note in between his fingertips. "It's nothing really. Just a little something I dropped." His voice was extremely casual, and there was no way that anybody could tell he was lying. I was shocked that L could lie so easily. He walked over and set the notebook on his desk with the front cover facing down. I knew he did that purposely so nobody got curious. He knew that such a simple looking notebook wouldn't look suspicious to the rest of the Task Force, but if they saw the letters DEATH NOTE scribbled on top, then a few things would change.

"You should all get some rest. I'm sorry we woke you all in the middle of the night. You are all allowed to go and rest as long as you need. We can continue later." L took his seat in front of the screens and started chewing on his thumb. I knew he was itching to look through the Death Note, and that's probably why he excused them so easily.

"Really? Thanks, Ryuzaki." Matsuda grinned.

"Are you sure?" The chief asked.

"Yes." L replied. "You may all sleep here or go to your homes. I'd prefer it if you did get some sleep. You work best fully rested."

There were a few exchanged glances before everyone nodded. "Thank you, Ryuzaki." The chief turned and walked towards the door, followed by everyone else except Beyond. He just sat there with his hands in his pockets.

I walked over at a very slow pace and stood beside L, looking down at the Death Note. L had his eyes glued to it as he flipped it over and then opened up the first page.

"Beyond, you are allowed to rest, also, you know." L muttered.

"I know that, but like you, I work fine without eight hours of sleep a night. It's just wasted time."

"Indeed." L responded, but it didn't sound to me like he was listening very carefully to his twin/successor/enemy. Oh, what a wonder combination Beyond had going for him.

Beyond took the other side of L, but didn't even glance at the notebook. "Where do you think idiotic teenager went off to?"

I snorted and shot a glare to Beyond. I was still crying so it didn't feel right. My chin was trembling, but I wasn't sobbing, thankfully. I hated crying, even though lately it felt amazing to let the tears drip down my cheeks.

"Which one?"

"Katsuki." Beyond replied. Of course he'd call me an idiot even though I wasn't there. That's how you know you have a true friendship; when you call each other idiots behind their backs. I chuckled to myself at the thought of Beyond and I ever being able to get along. It wouldn't ever come. We'd be all elderly and hopelessly confused and still be fighting about something stupid.

"I get the feeling it wasn't intentional." L flipped another page of the Death Note and scanned it with his eyes.

"I don't know. Mogi said she just disappeared when the guy shot her. Did he knock her off the edge and he just didn't see it?"

"We searched the area was two hours. There was no way she wouldn't have been there if she was shot. I know that it all has something to do with her being part Shinigami, because despite Katsuki's occasional random emotional fluctuations, she'd never run off at such a time. Something… paranormal must have happened."

Wow. Even though he was smart, I didn't know he was _that_ smart. Nor did I have any idea it was that easy to figure out. Maybe it was just that he made it look easy.

"Then if she had the option, don't you think she would've either come back here or gone somewhere familiar?" Beyond said.

"Yes, it makes sense, but we haven't seen her here. But this," L drummed the pads of his fingers against a page of the Death Note. "Wasn't here when we left. However it got here, it was obviously dropped off by someone other than anybody in the Task Force. Light and Misa used these to kill with, and were gifted these notebooks by Shinigami. This handwriting is exactly like Misa's, which means this is probably hers. Of course, we could always take fingerprint samples and such, but there's no need when the writing is this… feminine.

"If Amane has also forgotten her memories of being the second Kira, which I still don't understand how that happens, then that must have something to do with this notebook no longer being in her possession. But as long as they don't have access to these notebooks, then they can't continue being Kira. Light and Misa went missing an entire day ago. Light shouldn't know anything about this notebook, which means that he couldn't drop it off here to leave as evidence. Assuming that Misa has the same knowledge as Light, then she wouldn't do the same. Unless a Shinigami is trying to confuse us, it's most likely that Katsuki has dropped this off for us."

My jaw dropped and I started sobbing again. How could he figure that out so easily? It was like I was telling him everything. I shook my head in disbelief and amazement and went over to the stairs and lay on the cold metal steps. Nobody would care. As long as they didn't step on me, I'd be content.

With my cheek pressed against the step, I closed my eyes and focused on breathing slowly. I had to calm down. There was no need to be crying like this. I was back with them, and I'd end up figuring it out eventually, even if I had to communicate through writing messages or something.

As my breathing slowed to a calmer rate and my sobs quieted, the feeling of fatigue settled on me. Even though I wasn't that comfortable on the stairs, I really didn't care. I drifted off to sleep in no time flat to the feeling of my stomach grumbling in desperation for something to eat.

...

When I opened my eyes again, I knew it was dark. The lights were all out except for the glow coming from the screens that both L and Beyond sat in front of. Beyond must have pulled up a chair, because they looked totally identical in their crouched positions, staring at the screens of evidence for whatever reason. It was too bright of a screen for me to look at until my eyes adjusted, so instead I sat up and sighed, dropping my chin into my hands to watch them work.

They didn't say anything forever. The only thing that made noise was my stomach, which I eventually gave into. I got up and walked over to a table, where someone, most likely L, had left a piece of cake out. Over the past month or so, I learned that L had an amazing sweet tooth. Leaving uneaten cake out wasn't like him, and L never forgot anything.

Did that mean… he left it for me?

Nah. Unless it was like a trap or something to see if I was really there with them, they wouldn't have done that. They would've left something else out that L wouldn't have to go through torture trying not to eat.

But I didn't really care at all if they knew I was there or not. I wanted them to know that I was still around, even though I wasn't visible to their eyes.

I lowered myself down onto the chair, took the tiny fork beside the cake, and broke off a quarter of the slice and shoved it into my mouth. The amount of sugar in the frosting and the cake itself was overwhelming to my mouth that really needed something healthy, but it tasted amazing, so I swallowed the piece and went in for another.

The slice of cake wasn't enough to fill me up, but I did feel a little better. I was grateful, even if they didn't leave it out intentionally.

I didn't know how long I had been asleep, but it was clear I slept the rest of the day away. I could see that it was dark through the clear doors. Great, now my sleeping schedule was gonna be screwed up. Oh well, it's not like I had to be up for anything at a certain time.

I needed to take them to Misa and Light, also, before they moved on from that spot. It was clear that they were on foot, because when I as there I hadn't seen any cars around that Light could drive. They couldn't have gotten too far yet, but I was losing valuable time.

This was all my fault. If I hadn't attacked Light, he wouldn't have ended up in the hospital, and he wouldn't have lost his memories and ran away with Misa. If I wasn't some damn part Shinigami, I'd be able to help, but I was flat out useless right now. I was way too careless for my own good, and that was holding back the investigation. They knew Light was Kira now, so I had done my part. Could I just leave and never come back? Would it matter?

I shook my head hard to try and break my thoughts. No, there was no need to leave. We were so close to winning the battle against Light. I had to be there to watch his face contort in anger when he gets locked away for good, and later killed. Yeah, it was a morbid thought, but we all knew it was coming for him. And since technically _I_ was the one who brought his death to him by admitting he was Kira, I certainly had to be there to smile so politely. It was now an obligation.

Out of things to do, I looked over at what Beyond and L were doing. L was typing something, but the text was too small for me to see. Since they couldn't see me, I could easily spy to see what they were doing. I stood up as silently as possible and walked over.

I leaned forwards and propped my elbow up on the back of L's chair to stare at the screen. He was writing something to what looked like the police department, and with only a quick look, it was to search for Light and Misa. He said nothing about them being Kira and Kira-2, or even suspects for that matter, only that they were important to one of his coworkers.

"Katsuki?" L muttered and stared through me at Beyond.

I looked over at Beyond to see his reaction, but he was staring straight at L. I glanced back at L, confused at their silence.

"How did you get in here?" L asked, staring straight at me.

I was confused by their dialog. It didn't make sense. It was like they were talking to… _me_…

My eyes went wide and my mouth dropped open when the realization hit. "Can you… see me?" I asked L as the tears welled up in my eyes.

"Yes, of course." L replied.

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! They could see me! Right? That's what he said, and Beyond didn't ask any questions. Unless they were telepathic. And let's face it; there might be a whole bunch of crap going on in my life, but telepathic twins was a little too much.

I couldn't help but squeal and nearly tackle L in a hug. He was totally tense, but I didn't care about how freaked out he was. They could see me! And that meant others could see me, too! It was better!

The tears were all over my face, but again, I didn't care. I was actually sobbing in a mess of happiness and relief, but that didn't bother me one bit.

I could tell L was startled, but his voice was calm as he asked, "Where did you go?"

"Oh yeah!" I jerked away and pointed at the door while I was fighting the urge to jump up and down. "I found them! Light and Misa."

Even though Beyond had that face on that was ready to mock me at any moment, he didn't say anything. I would've hugged him too, but there was no force in the world that could make me happy enough to hug a killer. I think he felt the same way towards me, too. We weren't exactly besties yet.

I couldn't tell if L was grateful for my change in subject, but he jumped on it anyway. "Where?"

* * *

We had the entire Task Force heading out towards the general area that I had told them about. Since they were probably all dead asleep, I couldn't help but feel bad since we woke them up the other night, also. They'd get over it though.

"Are you sure you saw them?" L asked from the passenger seat. He was flipped around to look back at us. Like when we were bringing Beyond back from prison, I sat in the back with the mad killer while Watari drove.

"Yeah. I even saw Misa's Shinigami. I got a ride back from it, too. She was all like," I lowered my voice to try and match Rem's boring voice. "'If you do anything to Misa, I will kill you, Katsuki Azuma.' And all that jazz."

"Misa's Shinigami…" L repeated. "It threatened you?"

I nodded. "Yep, it did."

"That's unlike what I thought a Shinigami's behavior towards humans would be. That… Ryuk didn't seem too protective of Light when we spoke to it."

"Oh, no, Ryuk doesn't care what happens to anyone. He just wants his apples and that's it."

"Gods of Death love apples." L whispered with a bewildered face. Before I could ask what's up, he dropped his surprise and moved on. "So, describe the area they were in, and when."

"Okay, it was, like, five hours past sunrise. They were in this alley in between two large buildings. I saw it from one of the vacant streets, but the other side could've been more populated. It seemed pretty abandoned when I got there, except for Light and Misa of course. Just a bunch of boxes and trash."

"Did you get a street name?"

"No, sorry." I probably should've done that. Oh well. "And I think they're on foot, because I didn't see a car that they could've been using it, unless they parked it far away."

"Do you mean right here?" Watari asked as soon as the car slowed to a stop. I had to lunge over Beyond to look out the window, and that made us both uncomfortable and awkward, but there were more important issues.

"Yeah, that's it."

Man, Watari was good.

* * *

**Whoo hoo, so Kat is visible yet again! Good for her, right? I guess so.  
**

**More chapters are to come soon enough, my faithful readers. Speaking of readers, I shout out to Tbird2290 for almost always reviewing and definitely following along. Also, special thanks to Southparkfreak101 and Remmy18 for being some of my top reviewers. It's people like you that encourage me to keep writing! And then there are also all of my readers, who have made the View count go much higher than I expected it to! And just for you guys, I may or may not upload the next chapter tomorrow (Since I already have it written, I'm just spacing it out a little). ;D**

**~BurntPickle**


	20. Chapter 20- Wild Goose Hunt

Chapter 20

I swung the door on Beyond's side open and crawled out. I was surprised he didn't shove me. Maybe he did have a few morals. What a surprise.

Everyone else got out of the van after me. I jogged into the alley as quietly as possible, looking around for any possible sign where they were. It sounded to me like they weren't here, but-

A large figure dropped in front of me, and a boney hand reached out and grasped me by the neck. I opened my mouth to scream, but the sound died in my throat when I stared into the thin slits of the large yellow eyes. The eyes of my old ride home, Rem.

I gasped for a breath before the pissed off Shinigami lifted me off of my feet and dangled me in front of her. I kicked and tried to pry her fingers off of my neck, but it wasn't working. My lungs were screaming for proper air already, and my heartbeat was pounding loud in my ears.

Holy crap, I was going to die. Physically killed by a Shinigami. I didn't even know that was possible.

"Why did you come back here, Katuski Azuma?" She asked. "Was it to bring Misa back with you?"

"That was the plan…" My voice came out in only a small, hopeless whisper. Her grip tightened and I whimpered. I dug my fingernails into her wrist, but all I felt was bone, and fingernails weren't going to do anything to her.

Did Shinigami have a weakness? I hadn't been told of one, but why would Ryuk tell me how to kill a Shinigami? He was only protecting himself in the event I got ticked at him and wanted him dead. I couldn't blame him for that.

I felt my body starting to go numb. But I refused to stop kicking and squirming. That would be just letting her take my life, and I couldn't go down like that. No, I wouldn't.

"Katsuki!" I heard the chief bark from the entrance of the alley. Oh crap, how was I going to explain this? He could only see me floating, probably with bruises all over my neck.

I closed my eyes and tried to breath. I think she was purposely only letting me breathe a little bit. It felt like I was trying to breathe through a thin straw, and it made my lungs feel like they was made of magma.

Rem looked over my shoulder with a glare and a tight scowl etched in her long face. "You brought others?"

"Well duh, I can't drive." I opened my eyes responded through gritted teeth. I knew I shouldn't have spoken, because it wasted my breath, but I was too much of a brat to keep my damn mouth shut.

Rem's grip only tightened, cutting off all air possible. I scratched harder at Rem's arm, but my legs were becoming heavy. _Not good, not good._

"Rem." Suddenly another figure landed beside the Shinigami about to kill me. "You know that physically killing someone is forbidden. You'll be given the Extreme Level punishment."

Ryuk! That idiotic Shinigami was here! He was good for something, finally.

Rem hesitated before releasing her grip entirely. I crumbled to the ground in a heap. My throat opened up and I took in as much air as possible. I gingerly touched my neck. Yeah, it was going to be all purple. That pissed me off, because my back was just finishing up with healing. And bruises weren't exactly pretty.

Air had never tasted so amazing to me. My body slowly started regaining feeling in it, but I wasn't planning on standing up until I felt like it.

"Do not make me regret letting you live, Katsuki." Rem warned sternly. I didn't look up at her, for I was too intimidated. I really hated the feeling of being weaker, but even _I _knew that I couldn't fight off a Shinigami that hated my guts.

I heard wings flapping, and I knew that she was gone. Relief flooded my veins so fast that I thought I might faint.

"You owe me some apples." Ryuk commented.

"I guess you earned them." I said softly with a weak smile and looked up at the Shinigami.

Ryuk cackled happily and extended his wings and flew away. I did owe him a thanks. But my question was: What _was_ an Extreme Level punishment?

Beyond laughed and dropped into a crouch beside me. "Well, looks like you've had quite a day."

"Too bad my bad luck is still with me. Now I've got to figure out how to explain it at to everyone else." I jerked my chin back over my shoulder to where I heard multiple pairs of footsteps coming after me.

"Katsuki, you okay?" Matsuda was the first to run up to my side. He was panting. Not surprising me at all, he was in his pajamas. With only a quick glance, I saw that every other member of the Task Force was in their flannel plaid pants and loose shirts also.

"Sure." I gave a lopsided smile. It probably looked like I had a giant hickey. I was grateful for all of the shadows of the night.

"What was going on?" The chief asked and looked at L, who was second to reach me. His hair wasn't as slicked back as normal, probably because he had been trying to sleep. I doubt he did sleep, though, judging by the bags that were still under his eyes. His son was _missing_ for crying out loud. I felt tons of pity for him. I just hoped that I didn't get his hopes up by saying I knew where his son was, and then to wind up not finding Light at all.

"Mr. Yagami, I assure you, it's fine." L said.

"Then if it's fine, you should be able to explain what happened." Light father growled deeply. I was afraid he's whip out some metal pole and beat us over the head with it if we didn't answer him. He just had that look in his eyes.

L and I exchanged an uncertain glance. L was hesitant on explaining it to them, it was obvious, and so was I. Maybe we both had strange trust issues. I didn't know the reason he didn't want to tell them, but I was just afraid they'd always look at me with disgust. And maybe try to kill me.

"First let's track down your son and his girlfriend," I stood up with sore legs that were still reluctant to move. "And then we'll tell."

"_We'll_?" Mr. Yagami's mouth dropped. "So you've both been keeping a secret the entire time." His lips twitched. He didn't look happy at all.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck with a hand. Rem had been able to get her fingers all around my neck. It felt like my head was trying to sit on slippery Jell-O. "Yes. If you want to know the truth, I have been keeping a pretty big secret. But at this moment, there are more important issues than me."

Beyond sneered. "Look at you, trying to be all modest."

I mercilessly jabbed my elbow into his gut with as much strength as I could gather. The sound of his breath leaving his body was satisfying enough, but I had hoped for a little blood to come out of his mouth, also.

* * *

We had split up again to search for Light and Misa. I didn't feel as comfortable this time around, though. Mostly because I was assigned to go with L and Beyond, but also because I was still hurting all over. And that fear that something would go wrong again still lurked, but I tried to not let that bother me. My biggest fear was Beyond whirling around and killing me with his bare hands. My neck was already fragile enough at the moment. He'd have no trouble ending my days.

Why was I so paranoid? I guess it's because I was going every day seeing a serial killer. How does someone expect to stay sane living with that?

"Katsuki, did it sound like Light had his memories?" L asked as the three of us shined our flashlights all over in a search for Light and Misa.

"No, definitely not. Ryuk still has the Death Note Light used, I think, so it's impossible for Light to remember until he comes in contact with that same notebook."

"How did you manage to get your hands on the girl's notebook?" Beyond asked curiously.

"I took it from a car."

"A car?" L glanced at me for only a brief moment before looking back around.

"Yeah, it was in the car of some strange guy I'd never seen before. So I stole it. Ryuk said something about that man being the owner, but if it's stolen for some large amount of days, then it becomes the thief's."

"I see. Did you actually see the owner?"

I shook my head. "No, I was in a rush. Even though I was invisible thanks to my uncontrollable Shinigami powers, the Death Note I held was not. So it was just a floating notebook to him. I had to get out of there before he suspected anything. If he knew about the power of a Death Note, then he probably knew about Shinigami and their powers. He'd suspect me immediately of being something... abnormal."

Beyond smirked. "It's weird how other than a few exceptions, you're quite useless."

"And you? How have you contributed to the investigation?" I smirked slyly.

"My mind is quite similar to L's, and I've worked those long nights with him while you slept the hours away."

"Is that it? I don't think _you_ figured out who Kira is."

"I could have easily. Just let me look at his face and you'd have your answer."

"You could've lied."

"Maybe so, but if there's nothing in it for me to mess up L's work, then why do it? Kira was my biggest threat, so by getting rid of him, it would've made my life easier."

L didn't even seem to care that we were arguing. In fact, he looked like he was in his own little world. I wasn't about to tell L to get Beyond to shut up. That would've been the most childish thing I could've done, and Beyond definitely wouldn't have let me live it down.

My lips twisted. "But you-" I was interrupted by the sound of a cell phone ringing. We all came to a stop, and L reached into his pocket.

He stared at the caller ID with a blank expression before flipping the device open and putting it on speaker. "Hello?"

"Ryuzaki…" Light's voice came through. I gasped softly. "Why are you looking for us?"

"Oh, hey there Light. How's it going?"

"Ryuzaki, we can hear Katsuki and Beyond arguing from all the way over here. Could you tell them to shut up, please?"

I frowned and glared at Beyond. He seemed as amused as ever, with his smirk marking his face.

"They haven't seen each other in a while. The urge to argue needs to get out of their systems." L said casually, as if we _weren't_ standing there listening in.

"Fine, but you don't need to come and look for us. You'll never find us, anyway."

"Is that a challenge?" I whispered to Beyond, who shrugged.

L was silent for a long time before speaking again. "Light, we will find you. You can run as much as you'd like, but eventually you have to sleep. Especially Amane. I can't imagine that she's happy at the moment."

"You're wrong, Ryuzaki!" Misa's voice scratched for a moment, probably while the phone was being moved. But I heard something else. An echoing of that voice coming from a different direction. The other two heard it, also, because they stared in the same direction that I did. "I'm always happy as long as I'm by Light's side!"

L flicked a hand in the direction that Misa's voice came from. I nodded and started jogging that way. I would've ran, but every movement made my neck hurt. But then something happened…

Beyond came running up and passed me with ease. He even turned and ran backwards with a mocking smirk on his face.

The bastard wanted to race. Either that or I just interpreted it that way.

I ground my teeth together and broke into a run. There was no way I could let Beyond win, even if I was in pain. I'd pay for it tomorrow, and yes, I'd hate myself for it, but what happened to living in the moment?

L was probably following behind us as a casual pace to sound calm to Light. If he was running, which I couldn't imagine L doing, that would alert Light that we were coming. It's the smallest things that make someone smart.

"L, you don't understand! Light and I are perfectly happy!" Misa's voice yelped. Beyond and I stopped and looked around. The voice was so close, yet-

A low chuckling sent shivers down my spine. Beyond narrowed his eyes and turned to face the opening of what looked like a bakery. I tried getting closer, but stopped after taking three steps. I didn't know what was in there.

"Hello there, Katsuki, Beyond." Light strode outside with his hands in his pockets. I had no idea how he knew Beyond wasn't L, but I wasn't about to question it. He looked terrible. His hair was greasy and all matted up on his head. Some of his bruises had gone away, but his jaw still looked ruined. His clothes were torn, and he looked exhausted. "Glad you could make it."

* * *

**Oh look, another chapter. *pokes the update cautiously* I posted it for you. Do you feel special? Are you blushing madly? I bet you are. You're also saying "Oh stop it, you!" **

**Never mind, don't read that. And if you already did, forget it. If you need help, I'm sure you can find someone willing to slam something hard against your skull.**

**So, I've had this fanfiction up for an entire month now. I'm actually quite pleased that I didn't give up already. I sort of forgot to mention the whole one-month thing last update, so here it is. Whoo-hoo! *tosses shiny confetti***

**I might be going back and rewriting my past chapters. They'll stay generally the same, but I have a few things back there that don't really contribute to the rest of the story, and could be edited out. Except for that chunk of memory that Kat forgot. That I still am planning on using, so don't fret. I just need the perfect opportunity to toss it in. So if you want to read it again for some reason when I finish it up, I'll tell you when they're all fixed. It'll most likely be the first ten chapters that will be fixed as soon as I get my lazy butt up.**

**~BurntPickle**


	21. Chapter 21- Captured

**I've been forgetting to add this, like, a lot: I don't own Death Note.**

* * *

Chapter 21

I think I had the proper reaction compared to Beyond. I was the one to tighten my hands into fists and get ready to hear his side of whatever story he had, but Beyond started to giggle. For no. Fucking. Reason. He just laughed, and laughed, and laughed. I'll give him one thing though; it did throw Light off quite a bit.

"What's so funny?" Light asked. I was curious also.

Beyond laughed a little more and then immediately silenced himself with the most devilish smirk I'd ever since. "You think I'm surprised you're here."

Light flinched. I felt awkward, since I was surprised that Light had emerged. But Beyond?_ Totally cool with it_. I didn't understand, but I played along anyway.

"Mind being a little more specific?" Light raised an eyebrow. I could barely seem him. The only source of illumination was coming from the dulling streetlamp behind me.

I saw Beyond swipe something from underneath his shirt, and when a bright highlight glinted off of something, I knew he had a knife. How long he had it, though, was still needed to be figured out. "You see, Yagami, I am very similar to L. Which means that, like him, I have no trouble predicting your next move." He made simple yet dangerous hand motions with the blade, including flicking it around, turning his wrist, and being totally casual about it. "Why do you think I made an excellent killer?"

"Well you're insane, for one thing." I commented, just for kicks.

Beyond chuckled. "Yes, you may be right about that, Kitty."

I narrowed my eyes. _Please no nicknames. I'll kill him if he starts calling me that._

"Anyway, as I was saying, it was easy for me to become the world's greatest murderer because the police had no way of catching me. They made it too easy. It was only until L himself stepped in when things became really fun. We were constantly trying to figure out what the other would do next. I haven't had such a thrill in quite a long time."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Light asked.

"I'm just saying that there is no chance that you can surprise me, that's all." Beyond pointed the blade directly at Light. He was being quite daring by doing so. Nobody likes having a knife pointed at them.

"Katsuki," Light's eyes dodged away from Beyond and focused on me with softer looking eyes. "What happened to you neck? It looks bruised. Don't tell me you tried to kill yourself."

"Only in your dreams, Light." I smiled pleasantly.

"And mine." Beyond muttered.

"Shut up, psycho. You're not helping." I snapped.

"You two seem to be fighting a lot today." Light raised his eyebrows in an expectant manner. "Wonder why that is."

"He's on his period, that's all." I waved a dismissive hand towards Beyond and bit back a sly smile.

"Ha." Beyond bit out a humorless laugh. "You think you're funny, don't you _Kitty_."

"No, I _know_."

"Yeah, sure. Implying that you know anything."

"What's going on out here?" Misa poked her head over Light's shoulder before I could say something mean to Beyond. "Oh, hi Kat!"

"Oh, looks like our game of hide-and-go-seek is over already." Beyond frowned. "Oh well, that doesn't matter, as long as we won."

"We're not coming back with you." Light said in a voice that would hear no reasoning. "Not when you accuse us of being murderers. The only killer among you is _him_." Light pointed a finger at Beyond, who only beamed.

"While it's true that Beyond did have a very… malevolent past, that doesn't mean that he's the only one who has, or I guess had, a morbid hobby." I tried to make it sound like I wasn't defending Beyond, because that would come back to haunt me if I did.

Light scowled. "What are talking about, Katsuki?"

"Get down!" I heard the chief bark. I hadn't known he was there, but I didn't argue. I dropped to the ground and so did Beyond at the sound of a boom. I wanted to look back, but I figured it out when a huge net enveloped Light and Misa, pinning them to the ground.

I looked at Beyond. "Did _you_ know they brought a net gun?"

He shook his head. "I didn't have a clue. But now that I do know, I might play around with it sometime."

I rolled my eyes and pushed myself to my feet. "Just don't hurt anybody, got it?"

"You don't want me to tie you up and slowly saw off your limbs? Apparently we have two different definitions of fun."

I stopped breathing and watched with my mouth open as he stood up and brushed a few pebbles off of his chest.

_Please tell me he was kidding._

Beyond looked at me, puzzled. "What?"

"Two definitions alright…" I muttered and shook my head slowly. "Remind me to tranquilize you when I get the chance."

A few members of the Task Force rushed past us to attend to Light and Misa, who didn't sound like they were enjoying the net much.

L stopped going towards Light, and instead stood beside me and watched from afar.

"Everything okay?" I asked after a minute or so. It actually looked like he was a little sad.

His dark eyes flicked over to meet mine. "Yes. Why ask?"

"You look a little depressed."

He immediately moved his eyes back to focus on the scene in front of us. "I'd be lying if I denied your statement. It's not often that someone's friend is a raging killer who will be sentenced to death in less than a week."

My heart hurt for him. If I felt guilty, then what did L feel? The guy masked his emotions completely at all times. It was rare when he let anything show on his face. So if sadness was changing his expression, than he must have been going through some kind of emotional breaking. If we both weren't so awkward, I'd try and give him a comfort hug. Instead I set a hand on his shoulder and called it close enough. I didn't say anything, because no words felt right, but instead just stood there in silence.

"Ryuzaki, should we take him back to headquarters?" The chief looked like he was about to cry. His eyes were as shiny as a freshly washed glass, and there was a certain shake to his voice that gave it away.

"Yes." L replied with a nod. "First put handcuffs on them both, and we'll drive them in the van. Kasuki and Beyond will ride in a different vehicle for safety precautions."

By safety precautions, I think he was trying to keep me away from our two Kiras for the sake of Light's face or something. I did have a tendency to lash out at people I didn't like.

"I'll drive them." The chief offered. "Everyone else should probably return home and take a short break until tomorrow."

Ugh, I _still_ had to ride with Beyond. And just when there was a chance I could've gotten some peace.

"And you?" L asked.

"I'm going to stay with my son until things calm down."

"Mr. Yagami, you don't appear to have slept much in the past few days. It's best for your health if you got a little rest."

"I'm fine. But I must be assured that my son will be alright, also."

L didn't argue further. He just nodded and started to head back towards where we had left the vehicles.

"Katsuki, Beyond, please try to be on your best behavior on the ride back. It would be easier for Mr. Yagami if you both just kept your mouths shut." L called back.

I wasn't used to being parented, but if this was it, I wasn't liking it so much.

* * *

We were two minutes into the car ride. It was dead silence, but I was twitching as I kept looking out of the window. I wouldn't dare tear my eyes away from the window, because if I did I'd end up looking at Beyond, who was staring straight at me, right beside me, for no apparent reason. But I had a sneaking suspicion that he was taunting me to see if I would snap.

"Katsuki, I'm…" Mr. Yagami started, but his voice cracked and he didn't speak further.

I bit my lower lip and snuggled against the leather seat. Poor father was heartbroken. He'd probably never fully heal. How could Light do such a thing and not even think about how much hurt he was bringing to those around him? I couldn't even begin to imagine the sadness and shame the innocent father was going through.

Beyond was still trying to annoy me. He didn't care when if L was disappointed in us.

I reluctantly slid my eyes over to meet his with a glare. "Why are you watching me, creep?"

A smirk broke his blank expression and he settled back into the seat on his appropriate side. "You're quite easy to mess with today."

"Forgive me." I muttered.

The rest of the ride back was silent. It was a little awkward, but I was grateful. A little silence was nice.

Mr. Yagami parked and turned off the car. Before he unlocked the doors, he said, "Katsuki, I expect both you and L to explain this little secret you two kept from everyone."

I nodded glumly and accepted defeat, which was a rare thing for me. "Alright."

He unlocked the doors and we all climbed out. The van that L, Watari, Light, and Misa had all drove back in was already here. I was curious to see what he was doing to keep Light and Misa calm. I couldn't imagine that they were happy.

When we walked inside, all I heard was a bunch of screaming, yelling, and arguing. I cringed as the loud noises echoed, and Beyond even reached for his knife. I scolded him with a glare before he pulled it out once more.

"Ryuzaki, why don't you just let us be? We're not the Kiras!" Misa cried. I walked into sight and saw both of them handcuffed on the ground. Kira and Kira-2 had scary looks etched into their faces. I was almost happy they had forgotten their memories. Once they got the chance, I knew someone in this room would be dead if they had their Death Notes.

"It appears to me that you both have forgotten anything to do with being Kira." L muttered as he sat in his chair with a warm cup of tea in his hand. When he noticed us, he lifted his gaze and almost looked relieved. "Katsuki, do you know where Ryuk is?"

"Ryuk? Who's Ryuk?" The chief asked.

I shook my head. "No. Last I saw him was when Rem, Misa's Shinigami, nearly killed me."

"Is there any way to… summon him, so to speak?"

I shrugged. "I'll give it a try." I casually looked around, leaning back and forth to maybe see if he was hiding behind something. "Ryuk? Here boy." I whistled like I was calling to a dog. "Come get a treat. I have some apples."

And just like that, the Shinigami moved through the wall and appeared beside L. Since L could see him, his entire body was stiff, but he didn't dare look at the Shinigami.

"Where?" Ryuk asked anxiously.

"Just kidding, we need your help." I chimed in a sing-song tone.

For a brief moment, the look in his eyes made me seriously think he would write my name in his notebook. But then the worry passed and I remembered the Death Note couldn't kill me. So, take that Ryuk.

"With what?" The Shinigami grouched.

I turned to L. From the corner of my eye, I saw a very, very confused looking chief, and from the other side I saw very, very confused looking Kiras. Oh, the beauty of secrets.

"It is possible to have them regain their memories, correct?" L asked, flicking his dark eyes to Ryuk.

"Yes." The Shinigami answered, but it was impossible to miss the displeasure in his voice.

"And how could that be?"

Ryuk pulled his Death Note out of wherever he kept it and held it out to L. "By touching Light with this notebook, he'll remember everything."

"And that means, by touching Misa with the other one that would have her regain her memories too. Right?" I stepped forwards.

"Yes." Ryuk repeated.

L took the Death Note and stared directly at Light, who clearly had no idea what was going on. I smirked at the sight of his innocent face. Misa wore a similar one.

L grabbed Misa's Death Note off of his desk and then looked at me. "Could you do Light's for me? I'd like to be able to document his reaction. Beyond, you do Misa's for the same reason."

I exchanged a glance with Beyond, and we both shrugged before walking over. I took Light's Death Note, even though I would've liked to do Misa's instead. I felt safer in front of the weak chick instead of the guy whose face I broke.

I tentatively crouched in front of Light. Beyond stood back, waiting for me to enlighten Light first. _(Ha, get it? No? Okay, bye...)_

I licked my lips nervously and then hovered the notebook right next to Light's shoulder. I thought I was prepared for anything. But I wasn't prepared for the action I took without even thinking about it.

Since I still hadn't forgiven Light, my subconscious decided to act before I even got the chance to think about it.

I smashed the Death Note into the side of Light's face.

Why?

I don't need to justify my actions. Who _wouldn't_ smack Light when they got the chance? I certainly hadn't lost any of my opportunities.

As soon as the notebook collided with his cheek, his entire body stiffened.

But then… something else happened…

My head exploded with a huge unnatural throb. I screamed in both surprise and pain, but I couldn't get myself to move.

It was like a moving playing over in my head.

I was in Light's room. Ryuk was there. Something about Kira. And there was fighting apparently. And angry writing. And me running and then… heart attack. _(Chapter 3, you guys. She's finally got the memory back!)_

I snapped back into reality, and opened my mouth to say something, but I got another explosion of pain. This time, it was on my nose.

I summersaulted backwards with a yelp when Light's foot smashed into my nose. Clutching my nose, I flipped back into a crouched position, ready to pounce on the first thing that moved. Blood was gushing out of my nostrils and into my hand.

"You asshole." I grumbled with a glower at Light.

"Why'd you hit me with that notebook for no reason?" He hissed.

"Because you're Kira, that's why! You've told me _twice_!"

Misa gasped, and tears welled up in her large eyes. "You still think that, Katsuki? After all of this?"

Beyond took that as his cue and walked on up to Misa. He bonked her lightly on the head with the notebook. She got that same surprised look that Light did, but_ she_ didn't lash out at Beyond.

L's successor turned around with a smirk and walked past me. "You're bleeding, you know."

"No shit!" I snapped. Blood was trickling down my knuckles and fingers, and it was even making it down to the floor. Hopefully it wouldn't stain. My nose was now the only thing that was throbbing, but I was still shaking from the sudden memory that had returned.

I glared at Light, who glared back at me, and Misa was just sitting there awkwardly with nothing to do.

"Admit it, Light. You and Misa _are_ Kira." I hissed. My voice sounded funny because I had my nose plugged to try and stop the bleeding. But there wasn't much I could do about that.

"As we've told you so many times before, we're not Kira." Light bit back, but I knew differently.

"You've told me twice that you are, you idiot! And then proceeded to try and kill me!"

"When did the second time happen?" L asked from across the room.

I only glanced at him for a brief moment. "You remember that night I had a heart attack? And we all wondered if it was Kira or not who gave me the heart attack, and turns out it was, but then whoopdy-doo it didn't work and I survived. And that was because of my whole part Shinigami shebang, so the Death Note can't kill me. I'm getting off track, but it was that night. I tried to tell you Light was Kira, but then I sort of had a heart attack and it somehow wiped that memory. Don't ask me how, though, because I can't give you an explanation." I gasped for a breath after finishing my whole rant since I forgot to breathe through the entire thing.

Mr. Yagami was totally lost. I couldn't blame him. I probably sounded insane to him. But thankfully, L nodded and continued like normal without question, and that made everything seem a bit more normal.

"Katsuki, what do you mean by Shinigami?" The chief asked.

I shared a soft smile. "There's a lot to explain. It can wait until tomorrow morning when you're rested."

* * *

**The first chapter has been rewritten, working on the second.**

**I tried to include a few more interactions between Kat and Beyond, because, well... I wanted to. So if you're not a Beyond fan, I'm terribly sorry.**

**Wow, lots of author notes today. *Sarcasm***

**~BurntPickle**


	22. Chapter 22- Kiras' Downfall

**Surprise! I don't own Death Note. **

* * *

Chapter 22

After a while, Misa and Light and fell asleep while leaning against each other. But Mr. Yagami, on the other hand, did not. I was tired, and Beyond and L didn't look all that interested in doing working late.

"I'd like an explanation." Light's father said quietly. "You shouldn't be keeping secrets from the rest of us, Ryuzaki."

"Yes, I know." L muttered and nibbled on his thumb.

I sighed. "What about the rest of the Task Force? Don't you want to wait to tell them all at the same time?" I watched him with heavy eyes. "I'm not too keen on the idea of explaining things twice."

With the look he gave me, I took that as a no.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Alright then, if you want to know, then here's the truth: I'm-"

"She's pregnant." Beyond interrupted quickly.

I immediately ripped my shoe off my foot and hurled it at him without a second thought. It made contact with his face and knocked him a step backwards, and left a fairly nice red mark.

"That's not even funny." I hissed.

He rubbed his face with a sly smirk painting his face. "Sorry." He replied insincerely.

"You will be when I turn your innards into a new dress to wear to your funeral!" I snapped and then recollected myself with a deep breath.

The chief blinked in a dumbfound state. "So… you're not pregnant, right?"

"Of course not." I answered quickly. I wanted to add the part that I was still a virgin, but I didn't see that as necessary.

Beyond was still chuckling softly to himself from across the room. "I wonder who the father would be…" He mused out loud in a very faint voice that I still heard. I shot him the strongest glare I had inside of me to silence the psycho.

I scowled and tightened my hands into fists. I'd kill him eventually. All I needed was a good weapon.

I shook my head and continued what I was saying earlier.

When I finished explaining my whole Shinigami-slash-human self, Mr. Yagami looked completely bewildered. L hadn't been much help, but he did explain a few things to the shocked man. And Beyond had luckily shut up and didn't try to interrupt with some creepy comment or something.

"And you kept this hidden?" The chief blinked.

I nodded sheepishly. "Yeah. I really didn't know how you guys would react. I was… sort of afraid that you would be disgusted with me or something." I admitted. Truth is, I was only slightly afraid of that outcome. Really I just didn't trust people with that kind of information. I had this weird fear that they'd use it against me one day.

The chief nodded. "I understand, but then why tell Ryuzaki?"

I shrugged. "Since a little birdie, aka a Shinigami, told me how Kira kills I felt that someone had to know. Who would've been better to tell other than L himself?"

"Oh." The chief flicked his gaze over to his son, who was snoring softly in his sleep. "I'm sorry that Light has caused you all so much trouble."

"It's not your fault. You shouldn't be the one apologizing." I said in the most comforting tone of voice I could manage.

"He's my son. As a father, it is my duty to take responsibility for his actions." Mr. Yagami had his head bowed so he couldn't look at anyone.

My mouth was dropped open, but I didn't have any words. I slowly closed my jaw again and nodded. "I understand."

The silence in the room was horrible. I needed someone to say something to change the topic. I wasn't very good at showing my sympathy for others since I never did it on a regular basis. Heck, Beyond could have made up another lie and called me a slut and I probably would've thanked him.

I rocked back and forth on my heels and clasped my hands behind my back.

A groan came from Light, and he lifted his head in a way that made it like as heavy as a bowling ball. He blinked his eyes hard and looked around in a daze. "What?" He muttered with squinted eyes.

"Morning, sunshine." I cheered with a grin. "Good to see you're awake."

"Katsuki…? Why… why am I tied up?"

"Hmm… let's see." I strode over and crouched in front of him in the same way that L would, and tilted my head. "Because you're Kira, that's why. And you've just been caught."

He looked at everyone in the room before looking back at me. His eyes narrowed into a sharp glare that looked like he was ready to boil me alive. "You still believe that?"

"Yes. I know all about the Death Note, I'm pals with Ryuk, I have powers of a Shinigami, and I've also helped capture you. Light, you have no more secrets."

He scowled. "Death Note? What are you talking about?"

"Just admit it!" I barked as I started to lose my temper. "Everybody knows the truth now! You've already told me everything! Admit it, Light. There isn't anything else you can do."

He glared at me for what felt like hours, but I just glared back, unfazed by a tied up Kira. "Fine. You want the truth?"

"Yes." I almost gasped in relief. "Speak the truth."

He hesitated before continuing. "You're right, Katsuki. I am Kira." He smiled. "But there isn't anything you can do about it."

"That's where you're wrong, Light." L walked over with something in his hand. "This is all the proof we need to end your rein." He held it up next to his face and pressed a button. It repeated what Light had just admitted. L himself wasn't smiling, but his eyes had that look of accomplishment.

Light's eyes widened and he sucked in a breath. "Ryuzaki…" He breathed, but nothing else came out.

"Finally!" I yelped happily. "We should've tied you up and accused you sooner!" I beamed, but then when I got the feeling that I shouldn't have let that last sentence slip off my tongue, I stopped smiling. Mr. Yagami probably wasn't as thrilled.

Light dropped his head in defeat and let go of a heavy sigh. Misa was still asleep, despite all that was going on. I was actually relieved she was asleep. The girl was more annoying than anyone I'd ever met.

"So, the trial is in, what, five days?" A voice similar to L's spoke, but L's mouth did not move, which meant it had to be Beyond. Damn, they sounded so much alike that if I was blindfolded I'd probably not know who was who.

"What do we do with them until then?" I asked, turning my head over my shoulder.

L stood there, gazing down at his friend with a very… depressed look in his large eyes. "Until then, we will keep them under close observation to make sure that they do not forget that they are Kira."

I sighed and stared up at the ceiling, completely swallowed in boredom. I was flat on my back with my neck supported by my arms. I yawned as my body felt heavier on the bed. After all that had happened lately, I was desperate for a full rest.

My eyes fluttered shut, but I wasn't comfortable. After a little bit of stillness, I flipped onto my side and curled into a ball, but it had the same effect. I tried my other side and stomach, but neither of them felt right. It was like I was trying to sleep in a stranger's home.

I opened my eyes and frowned before pushing myself off of my stomach to stare down at the bed. In my head, it occurred to me that this really _wasn't_ my bed. I didn't _really_ belong here. I wasn't some super genius like L, and I didn't have any training like the Task Force. And Beyond? He didn't belong here either, but that's not the point.

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes in thought. Now that the Kira case was almost over, what was I going to do after that? I'd probably just have to go back to my old ways. I wasn't looking forward to it, but it's not like I could just stay here for no reason. My job was done, right?

I looked around the room. It wasn't personalized or anything, just blank and empty, like a guest room. For a _guest_. Not a member of a household. Guests don't stay permanently.

I rubbed my forehead with a hand and groaned. Going back out into the world, living like crap… it didn't sound like much fun anymore. Hell, it never did sound like fun, but I didn't know what it felt like to actually have a full stomach on a mostly-regular-basis. Getting back into the flow of having to go searching for dinner wasn't going to be east.

I still had about a week until Kira would be officially put to an end. By then I'll _probably_ be more okay with leaving. The convincing part was going to be difficult, though. I hadn't meant to grown attached to the people I worked with, but now that I think about it, I really was going to have a hard time letting go.

See? This is why I never built a relationship for the past couple of years. I knew that eventually they had to end.

Suddenly the door, which I had my back to, opened. I instantly turned to look at the visitor.

"M-Misa?" I stuttered. "What are you doing in here?"

She stared at me with cheeks stained from makeup. "I wanted to apologize."

I raised my eyebrows. "For what?"

She sighed and shut the door behind her. She stared at the ground, like she was ashamed. "I know you're probably going to think that this is me begging for my life, and you can think whatever you want, but I'm sorry for causing you and everyone else so much stress lately. I really do feel bad for it."

I slid my legs off the side of the bed and stood up. "It's… okay." I whispered quietly. "I don't-" I stopped short when I noticed something crimson dripping to the floor. Retracing the most recent droplet's path up to Misa's arm. The long black sleeve clung to her lower arm and had a maroon tint to the cloth. "Misa, you're bleeding! Like, a lot!"

She nodded glumly. "I know. And that's what I'm apologizing for."

"Misa?" I rushed forwards to catch the girl just as her knees gave out. She began to crumble, but I caught her by the arms and lowered her down gently. "Misa? Misa!" I tugged up her sleeve, only to see at least ten fresh cuts all over. "Oh my God…" I breathed. "Misa!" I raised my voice to a scream. "L! **L**! Get your butt in here, **now**!"

By the time the door opened, I was already trembling while holding the bleeding second-Kira in my arms.

"Katsuki, is everything alright?" L asked.

"No!" I yelled. "Everything is not alright! Look at this!" I raised Misa's limp arm to show the many cuts to the detective. "Look!"

He frowned and crouched in front of me to feel her pulse without question. "She's still alive, but just barely. I'll have Watari call an ambulance to take her to the nearest hospital."

"Don't explain it to me, just do it already!" I barked. My hands and shirt were stained with her blood, and that only made matters worse.

L spoke a few quick words into a cell phone that he pulled out before hanging up. "We should get her downstairs."

"Great, let's do that." I stood up and began dragging Misa out the door, but spoke as I did. "Where is Light?"

"He was downstairs before you started screaming." L replied, not even bothering to help me move her.

"Perfect." I said through gritted teeth as we reached the edge of the stairs. I looked over the edge. "Yo, Light!" I called down at the man on the couch. He perked up and looked over, and then put on a puzzled expression when he actually saw what was going on. "Catch!"

His eyes widened and he sprung up from the couch just before I slung Misa's body over the railing. With a little push, I managed to get her over the side. Light then lunged forwards and caught Misa's limp body, luckily not cracking the back of her head on the ground.

"Katsuki, do you realize how dangerous you're being?" L asked as he strolled down the stairs.

"Yes, I fully understand, but I didn't want to have to drag a bleeding body down three flights of stairs. And since you weren't really helping, I didn't have much of a choice."

"I did not hear you asking for help." He mumbled.

"I didn't realize that I'd have to ask. I thought you'd just be courteous enough." I grumbled back and dashed past him to get down the stairs.

"Whoa, what happened to her?" Beyond asked as he slinked up beside Light.

Light was silent as he stared down at his girlfriend. He didn't look too incredibly sad, but I could see a little remorse in his eyes. _Good_, I thought. _That bastard better feel guilty for what he did._

The sirens wailed from outside, and Watari rushed inside. "Let's go. We must hurry."

* * *

**Okay, I'm _really_ sorry that this chapter took, like, a week to get out when it shouldn't have. The chapter sucks, yes, please don't kill me. First of all, I had really bad writers block. I was writing, like, a paragraph a day until I finally got my butt in gear and started typing again. Second; I have been under some extreme stress. I've barely slept eight hours a night for the past week because of how worried I was about school, and I was never able to get myself to start writing again before giving up because I was bored.**

**But, I have a surprise for you. A new fanfiction! I needed a side project to keep my spirits up. It's a Beyond x OC story. I was originally going to do a spinoff of this story with Beyond x Kat, but decided against it because I had a few different characters in mind. So, if you like my style of writing, you can go check it out on my profile page. The story is the only other one that I've written.**

**Thank you guys _so much_ for all the super kind reviews. I haven't gotten a single review that has said bad things about this story, despite its slow or badly written moments. The amount of followers/favoriters (That's not even a word...) is so encouraging, and I'm really, really sorry for taking so long. Please understand that I'm super stressed out right now, but once I get used to such a new hectic school year, I'll settle back into a normal routine to write and update. **

**~BurntPickle**

**PS: I didn't proofread this chapter like I normally do, so forgive any mistakes that I made. :)**


	23. Chapter 23- The Eyes that See it All

**Never will own Death Note.**

* * *

Chapter 23

I nervously paced in the hospital with my hands folded behind my back. My eyes glared imaginary craters into the ground. I was overflowing with emotions; anger, confusion, fear, worry, stress, and a tad bit of sadness, too.

"Miss Katsuki, I think it's best for your sanity if you take a seat and try to relax a little." Watari, who stood beside the slouched L, bowed his head towards me politely.

I shook my head and continued pacing. "I can't relax. If I relax then I might fall asleep, and I don't want to be all sleepy if Misa wants to speak with us soon."

"Okay then, let me rephrase it for him." Beyond said with a very bored tone. "Stop pacing, _Kitty_, because just watching you is making me dizzy and you better stop before I throw something at you."

I stopped abruptly and turned around to face Beyond with narrowed eyes. Then I opened my mouth and hissed, similar to a cat.

He smirked but didn't say a word, which really was a surprise to me.

It had been three hours since Misa had come to me, and it had not gone by quickly. I was about ready to tear the drywall down and go hijack a bus or something. This state of doing nothing was killing my brain cells.

"Uh… do any of you go by the name Katsuki Azuma by chance?" A white robbed doctor coughed uncomfortably and looked around at our group.

I raised a hand. "That would be me."

The doctor turned his head to look at me. "Misa Amane has requested to see you."

My eyebrows floated up. "Just me?"

He nodded once. "Yes, just you."

I glanced around at everyone else before shrugging. "Alright then." My gaze lingered on an unhappy Light who was seated in a chair nearest to the corner. His head was propped up on his knuckles. I would've killed to know what he was thinking, because his face wasn't giving much away.

The doctor led me down a hall and stopped in front of a room with a five digit number on the door.

"How… How is she?" I stuttered and hesitated while placing my palm on the door, ready to push it open.

"Alive." He replied without batting an eyelash.

I frowned. "That's not a very good description."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "We had to put her on some Nitrous Oxide to get her to settle down. She's still in the sedated state at the moment, but what she says doesn't make much sense to us. She called for you, insisting that you'd understand."

I felt my spine shudder at his words. Nervously I nodded and pushed open the door before walking into the room.

I winced at the sight. She looked terrible. Her hair looked terrible, but it didn't look much worse than what it did earlier. She had an IV hooked up to her arm, and she was leaned back against an outrageous number of pillows with a huge grin plastered on her face. Oh, and both of her wrists were pinned down with Velcro. The reason I had yet to figure out.

"Oh, Kat, there you are!" She squealed and jerked around to try and sit up, but her restraints weren't allowing much movement. In a second or two she gave up and flopped back down. "I've missed you!" She giggled.

I pursed my lips and nodded slowly. "I've missed you, too."

"I wanted to ask you a question." She whispered.

I frowned. "What is it?"

"You're _part_ Shinigami, right?"

I stiffened. "Yeah. Why?"

"Then could you do me a favor?"

I narrowed my eyes. "That depends on the favor you have in mind."

"Kill me." She said, still grinning.

I gasped and my eyes widened to the size of oranges. "What?"

"You heard me."

I blinked, dumbfounded. "Why do you want me to kill you?"

She deadpanned. "I already tried it." She twisted her scarred wrist around and stared at it sadly. "But it didn't work. You saved me, which doesn't make any sense. Shinigami are supposed to be Gods of Death, and aren't meant to save lives. Rem told me that if a Shinigami purposely extends someone's lifespan past the set date, that Shinigami dies."

That was something I didn't know, but that wasn't the most surprising thing to happen to me lately. To be serious, Ryuk could dress up as a sexy maid and I still wouldn't be impressed.

"So what does this have to do with me being part Shinigami?"

She shrugged to the best of her ability. "I don't know. It just seems more moral to me. Like, you were already born to kill, so why make me an exception?"

_You were already born to kill._ Her words repeated in my mind. Was I really just born to end lives, like a normal Shinigami? But... I was only _part_ Shinigami. Not full. So that didn't mean that I only had to kill, right?

I let go of a long sigh. "Misa, I won't kill you. I'm sorry, but I don't want to live with that kind of burden on my shoulders."

A pained look crossed her face. "Please, Kat! I don't want to receive the death penalty!" She cried.

"No, Misa! Suicide is cowardly and foolish, and I won't be any part of it!" I snapped back.

She wailed. "I'm begging you. I'm scared of the death penalty. I don't want to die at the hands of some stranger! At least I know you'll remember me, unlike the person who won't even know my middle name!"

_I don't even know your middle name, Misa_. I thought to myself.

I sat down on the hospital bed beside her feet. "I understand why you don't want to die that way, but look at it through my eyes. I have to go on and live my life knowing that I killed my friend because she was a murderer." I whispered.

Her eyes went wide. "Mur…derer?" She repeated before strongly shaking her head. "No, what Light and I did may seem wrong to you, but we just wanted to make this world safer! Don't you want to live in a world where you don't have to lock your doors every time you leave?"

"Yes, that'd be great. But if we have to live in fear underneath a tyrant sick for power who could easily kill us for whatever reason, then what kind of life is that?"

"But-"

"Misa, listen to me. Humans are all the same. Once you get something and you like it, you want more of it. If Light gets what he wants, then he'll eventually want to world to be even better. And whatever exists in his strange image of a utopia might come true, and he'll take every necessary action to _make it _come true. Can you imagine a world full of everyone being perfect?"

She didn't respond.

"That's called a race of _robots_. We are _humans_. We make _mistakes_. We're not anywhere near perfect. I can't count on six hands the number of mistakes I've made in my life, and I'm not even an adult yet."

She sighed and closed her eyes. "You're wrong, Kat. Light would never kill anybody who doesn't deserve to die. I think he'll always be controlled," And paused for a moment and smiled, and opened her eyes. "And perfect."

I nearly chocked on the air I breathed at her last comment. Light? Perfect? Not one bit in my eyes.

"Well, you're free to think what you want, but I can't promise you that everyone thinks the same." I lifted myself off the bed and adjusted my shirt with a sigh. "I guess I'll be going then."

She nodded numbly and watched me as I backed out of the room as quietly as possible. The door swung shut behind me after it slid off of my back, and I turned on a heel and walk away with my eyes trained on the ground in front of me. My shoulders sagged and I shoved my hands into my pockets as I walked.

Before I was able to get to the waiting room where the rest of my little posse of investigation buddies were, I slowed to a stop and slumped against the wall. My head rested against the beige colored wallpaper and I closed my eyes shut as tight as they could go.

We were so damn close, and now things were screwing up again. It pissed me off to just think that we wouldn't have an official win. If both Kiras killed themselves, there would be no reason to go to court for their trial. We may have already won, but that wasn't enough for me. I wanted someone to tell me that we were right, and Light and Misa were done with their reign. Yeah, maybe it was childish of me, but I was still young, and allowed to be childish.

"What are you doing?" A familiar voice sent my eyes flying open. I nearly jumped three feet backwards, but my body was heavy with fatigue, so that didn't happen.

I narrowed my eyes to glare at Beyond, who was curiously smirking at me with his head cocked at an angle. "Nothing," I hissed. "It's not like it's any of your business, anyway." I peeled myself away from the wall and shoved past him, forcing our shoulders to collide. I was purposely being rude, since Beyond wouldn't care if I insulted him. Scratch that, he probably wouldn't bat an eye if I plunged a knife into L's chest. Heck, he might even cheer me on.

He whirled around and planted a hand onto my shoulder, stopping me dead in my tracks. My muscles immediately tensed up as soon as his fingertips brushed against my skin. I curled my fingers into a fist, ready to punch, but hesitated for a reason that I knew none of.

"What do you want?" I snarled and glowered down at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze.

"I know you're mad because of her request, but there wasn't much you could've expected." He said quietly. "Nobody wants to die such a cruel death."

My lips twitched down into a tight frown. "You've killed people before, Beyond. You're used to the feeling of taking someone's life. I'm not. It's a little harder to accept."

He was silent, and eventually released my shoulder. I moved forwards a few steps, but did glance over my shoulder for a brief moment. Beyond stood there with his back turned to me.

I pursed my lips and stopped abruptly before reaching down and ripping my shoe off of my foot. Then I chucked it at him, hitting him in the back of his head.

He flinched and turned around, confusion pulling his lips into a scowl. "What was that for?"

I shrugged. "I don't know."

He shook his head with a smirk. "Whatever." He crouched and picked my shoe off of the ground and then straightened himself to study the shoe. Then, without warning, he hurled it towards me.

I yelped as it smacked me hard in the cheek and then disappeared behind me. I clamped a hand to the throbbing side of my face. "_Ow_! Beyond! That kinda hurt!"

He chuckled. "As my famous predecessor says," He casually walked past me and kept going. "An eye for an eye…"

* * *

I couldn't remember when we had gotten back to Headquarters, but I did know for a fact that I hadn't even made it up the stairs. I flopped down into a chair and fell asleep in an extremely uncomfortable position, but that didn't stop me from falling asleep in a matter of seconds.

But when I woke up, my eyes burned. I groaned and rolled off of the chair, onto the land in a heap on the ground. I yelped and cracked open my eyes to stare at the ceiling.

_That's weird…_ I thought to myself. _Why is the ceiling tinted red?_

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and rubbed my eyes hard with the heel of my hand.

"You're awake." L's voice came from somewhere around me.

"No kidding…" I muttered unhappily before opening my eyes again. I scanned the reddish room until I found him sitting at his chair. My eyes widened at the sight of something swimming over his head. It took a few moments to actually see what it was, but it appeared to be… numbers.

"Did you sleep well? You're eyes look awfully red." He mused.

My jaw dropped open and I bolted up into a standing position. "Holy shit!" I screamed.

He frowned. "Is everything alright."

"No, it's not, now shut up!" I dashed off towards the nearest bathroom. Or, actually, all I needed was a mirror, but whatever.

I fled to the bathroom and balanced myself against the sink to lean my nose up against the glass.

My irises… were red…

Those numbers… were they what Ryuk would see? I know he said something about Shinigami eyes way back when, but the memory was a little fuzzy.

"Beyond!" I bellowed. My voice echoed around in the bathroom, probably ringing through the air vents. I stalked out of the bathroom to look for that damn psycho. He'd probably know what the hell was going on.

"What could you possibly need?" He asked, coming down the stairs with an open jar of jam in hand.

"You tell me." I snarled and pointed to my eyes.

He strolled down the stairs until he got close enough to notice the change. A smirk plastered across his face. "Would you look at that, L? Our little Kitty here has herself a new pair of eyeballs." He teased.

"You mean…" I started, but the words failed me.

"Those eyes are the eyes of a Shinigami. Looks like they've finally grown in." He finished the last flight of stairs and walked over and swing an arm over my shoulder. "Welcome to the club."

I brushed his arm off and stepped away from him. "Then how come your eyes aren't red?"

"Contacts, smart one." He swiped a hand across his eyes and held out a colored contact on his finger for me to see. So one of his eyes were dark, like L's, and the other was a bloody red, like mine.

I was speechless and shocked. I glanced up over his head to check his lifespan, almost hopeful that the numbers were small, but I couldn't see it. I frowned to myself and moved on to look at everyone else's. L's lifespan was only six digits long, but the numbers were counting down. 76:32:14, and counting down. At least, I thought that was what it translated to. If I was right, then L had less than three days.

"L?" I called over uncertainly.

L flicked his gaze to me. "Yes?"

"When is the trial?"

"Three days from now. Why?"

I almost had a heart attack at that very moment, which would've sucked. I glanced at Beyond, who only nodded his head with his lips tugged down. He could see L's short time too.

"Oh, nothing." I replied and avoided his gaze. How would L die? Maybe I was reading it wrong? I didn't want L to die. Not that my soul would shatter if he did, but I'd certainly be upset. L was a good guy who saved many lives. He didn't deserve to die at such a young age.

But then… did Light and Misa? Of crap, now I was contradicting myself.

"No, never mind," I started again. "Postpone it back a few days."

The room shared a few exchanged glances.

"Any reason why?" L asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip nervously. "I don't think I'm ready." I tried to hide my face, like I was ashamed. "I'm too nervous."

"There's no need to worry, Katsuki. All you have to do is repeat what you've witnessed, that's all. I will be the one to do the majority of the talking. And they'll understand that you're nervous, considering you're not trained to do these kinds of things."

"But, L…" I whined. "Please."

He frowned. "I don't understand why you seem to think delaying the trial will make things any better. If anything, it gives both Light and Misa a better chance at figuring out some way to dodge their punishment."

I wanted to scream to truth to him, but it was safe to assume Beyond hadn't mentioned L's dwindling days to him. I needed to know why he wouldn't tell, but now wasn't the time. Until then, it was probably best to keep my mouth shut until I knew what I was doing.

"Ryuzaki, you know that Misa is in no condition, mentally or physically, to try and escape again. Postponing it isn't such a terrible idea." Light came down the stairs as he sipped on a cup of coffee. He didn't glance at me or Beyond, so he hadn't seen our eyes yet. But I did a check on his lifespan. According to this, he had at least a month more than L. That is, if I was seeing it correctly. Which meant that in the courtroom, something bad was bound to happen. And it would go in Light's favor. I hadn't seen Misa yet, so I had no idea if it was just Light, or both of them.

L turned his attention to Kira. "Yes, I have realized that, but you, Light, are in almost perfect health. You could easily formulate a simple plan without much trouble."

"Very true, Ryuzaki, but-" As Light spoke, his gaze ended up falling on me, which meant he saw my eyes. It stopped him dead in his tracks as he gaped. "What…?"

I flashed him a halfhearted smile. "What's up, Light?"

He then looked to Beyond. "Why are their eyes… red?"

"According to Beyond," L muttered. "They are the eyes of a Shinigami, both of which can see the names and lifespans of other humans who don't possess any kind of Shinigami power. Clearly they are red in color."

Light took a step back and blinked hard. "Are you sure they're not just wearing contacts?"

"I am sure." L turned his chair around to type away at a computer. "I don't know how it has all happened, but really I am not one to question supernatural phenomenon. Personally I'd like to go back to living in the naïve world of realistic thinking."

Before I could hear the rest of the conversation, Beyond snatched my arm and dragged me outside. I almost shouted at him, but then remembered that we had a lot to discuss…

* * *

**Yeesh it's been a while since I updated. Sorry about that. :( Oh well, Kat has the eyes now! Whoo-hoo? Maybe? Probably not.**

**So... I can already tell a few people won't be happy about some of the... content in this chapter. L's lifespan? Yeah, I'm not thrilled either, but it's all part of a super-secret plan I have ;3 I have it all planned out now, except for a few parts. Like Misa begging for suicide? I thought of that just as I was typing away. No plan there, but instead it's just making the story a little more interesting. If I gave you the ending already, that wouldn't be any fun! :D**

**I didn't think my update rate would fall this low, but I also didn't think that I'd be getting as much homework as I am already, and it's only the second week of school. Eek!**

**~BurntPickle (Who did not proofread this chapter)**


	24. Chapter 24- Moody and Stressed

**Don't own Death Note. Still. Surprised?**

* * *

Chapter 24

"Then just what do you plan to do, _Kitty_?" Beyond snarled and leaned against the wall of the building. "You've already made L extremely suspicious by suddenly wanting the trial postponed. Are you an idiot?!"

I had never heard Beyond yell, and in fact, it scared me. He was seriously pissed at me, and I really didn't know why.

We had been chatting – err, arguing – for only three minutes tops, and somewhere in between I had ticked him off.

I clenched a hand into a fist, ready to swing it at his jaw. "Yeah, I am an idiot. I'll admit it because it's true. But, dammit Beyond, how was I supposed to react? After everything that we've all been through, and you expect me to be cool with the fact that he's scheduled to die in three days? I just…" My voice cracked softly, preventing me from saying much else. I didn't know if he heard it or not, but I was seriously hoping he didn't.

His red eyed gaze didn't soften. I really wished he would put the contacts back in, because now it was just freaking me out. "I always took you to be the person to never get attached to anything." He muttered.

"I thought the same of myself a few months ago, too. But then all this happened, and things changed. I don't know, maybe it's because I felt a little more at ease around people who didn't scowl at me for curling up in an alley way with a piece of stale bread?"

"Yes, and I was locked away in some asylum for quite some time. But you don't see me clinging onto L's life."

"That's because you hate him, and I know it." I took a breath, knowing that I was about to venture into dangerous territory. I didn't know about Beyond's mind or how he acted when someone would talk to him about what I was about to, and I was scared to death, but I knew that I had to get him to shut up somehow`.

"Beyond, you are clearly just a copy of L. You were probably raised as his shadow." I spoke softly to him and put a step of distance in between us for safety reasons. "It's not like someone would _want_ to look like that baggy-eyed weirdo. And you wanted to surpass him in some other way. Am I right?"

I didn't think that his eyes could be filled with even more hatred, but I got a clear look at the proof right in front of me.

He didn't say a word, but instead took quick steps forwards and wrapped a hand around my throat, which was still quite fragile from Rem's attack a little while ago. Or maybe I was just being a baby about it. Either way, my body immediately tensed. I knew I had been testing him, but I had no idea he was willing to physically harm me.

"Let go." I managed to whisper as my breath was squeezed out of me.

"My past is none of your business." He growled, his grip tightening on my windpipe. Would he break it? Probably. And then he'd run away, leaving me to suffocate in a crumpled heap on the ground. "Don't speak of it, ever. Don't even _think_ about my past. Got it?"

I reached up and clawed at his fingers to try and loosen his death-intended grip. It seemed like more and more often I was being choked to death or attacked. Maybe I should've taken a hint.

"Let go." I repeated and dug my nails into his skin.

He pursed his lips and released me with a toss of his hand. I stumbled backwards into the building, and then clung to it for support. My hand flew to my neck to touch it gingerly as I gasped for a full breath.

Beyond glared at me before turning his back. "Figure something out on your own. It doesn't bother me one bit if you all die."

For some reason, his words stung. I opened my mouth to say something – anything – but the words refused to formulate in my mouth. He tucked his hands into his pockets and walked away, leaving me there to try and grasp what just happened.

No… Beyond, he couldn't leave. He was precious evidence that we desperately needed to put an end to the rein of Kira.

"Beyond, get your butt back here!" I yelped, but I couldn't seem to tear myself away from the building.

"Why should I, kitty?" He called back, but his voice was faint. "Give me one good reason."

Oh great. Was he on his period or something? Like, seriously, it sounded to me like he turning into some kind of emotional teenage girl.

"You're important to the case, Beyond. In order to put an official stop to things, we need you."

There was a horrible pause that sent dread pouring down my throat.

"That's not good enough." I heard him mutter.

I closed my eyes and prayed that I'd somehow hit my head really hard and forget everything.

And then I ran after him.

I grasped his wrist and tugged him backwards a step as soon as I reached him. He glanced over his shoulder to look at me with a surprised gaze.

"Fine, if you want a different reason, then here it is: I have no clue what the hell I'm doing. I'm extremely freaked out, okay? I woke up this morning to have a red tinted gaze, and there are numbers and letters floating above a bunch of people's heads. You're the only other _person_ that knows what I'm seeing."

His lips were pressed into a firm line, and our red eyes met for a long pause before he spoke again, as if he was choosing his words carefully.

"You're wrong. Amane used to have the Eyes before she gave up her memories. She still remembers. Why don't you go ask her for advice?"

I sighed and let my neck go limp, accidently bumping my forehead into his arm. "You're just trying to make this hard, aren't you?"

He chuckled softly, and I felt something patting my head. "Of course I am. You and I are meant to fight over the smallest of things. Don't you know that?"

I looked up with a blank expression. "What, can you see life _purposes _too? What'd you do, get the eyes of an optimistic person or something?"

A large smirk broke his face. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

I wore a halfhearted smile. "Beyond, are you really all that mad at me?"

He shrugged. "Sort of. But let me ask you a question: why do you care if I'm mad at you or not?"

"Well, for one thing, when you're mad you tend to hurt people." I said, circling a hand around my neck. "You're a lot like the Hulk, you know? Just not all big and green."

He frowned. "The Hulk?"

I shook my head and waved a dismissive hand. "Never mind, you have to be cool to understand."

"I don't think cool people cling onto wrists longer than needed, also." He said.

I looked down. My cheeks heated at the realization that I had yet to release his wrist. I did so immediately and turned around on a heel so he wouldn't see any kind of blushing on my cheeks. "I deny that ever happening."

"What was that, kitty?" He teased.

"Shut up, Birthday." I snapped.

"Oh, now we're getting serious here. You used the other half of my full name_. Wow._" He continued to mock. I was glad that we were back to the lighthearted conversation, because a mad Beyond is a frightening one, but I definitely wasn't happy about his sarcasm.

"Did I not just tell you to shut up?" I snarled and crossed my arms over my chest.

"And if you did?"

"Then do as you're told and come on. We're going back inside. I'm hungry."

* * *

I shoved half of a muffin into my mouth as I sprawled out in the middle of the floor. Crumbs fell from my mouth and gathered underneath my chin, but I didn't care. I hadn't seen L or Light ever since we got back inside, but I hadn't gone looking for them. It's not like I needed to talk to them, anyway.

But then I saw two bare feet in front of me with faded blue jeans hanging over them.

_Speaking of the devil…_

"Katsuki?"

I looked up at L. "What?" I replied with a full mouth, still trying to chew.

"If I may have a moment, please."

I groaned and sat up. I held up a hand and swallowed the muffin mush inside my mouth. But then, since I was still formulating some kind of conversation to distract him with, I forced the other half into my mouth to take up some time. Maybe I could just gag on it and get out of having to face the detective.

But I finished the muffin too soon for my preference. And I hadn't brought a second one with me.

"Fine. What is it?" I answered reluctantly.

He crouched in front of me and pulled his knees to his chest and balanced on the pads of his feet. He was really going to have some trouble walking when he got older if he continued to sit that way. That is, _if_ he made it to old age.

"If it is true that you have the eyes of a Shinigami that can see the names and lifespans of humans, then that means you are able to conclude when they will die. Judging by your frantic, unplanned reaction this morning, it only makes sense that you learned something new about someone around you. As Light is Kira and will probably be dying if the court session is carried out, it doesn't make sense that you would want it postponed for him. You also saw Beyond, but once this case is over he will be sent back to the asylum to rot, so either way it doesn't really matter what happens to him. And besides, I doubt you would care too much. Then that leaves my fate to be decided, so I do understand that if I was scheduled to die in, let's say a few days or so, that you would be frightened."

It was clear to me why he was crowned the world's greatest detective.

I didn't want to respond to him at all. I needed to change to subject desperately. I didn't want L to die. He didn't need to die in such a way. No, no, no.

"Beyond will be sent back to the asylum?" I blurted, my jaw dropping. I let my shock of L's deductive skills bleed through the pretend shock of Beyond's future. I knew they wouldn't let him run around the world, free to kill someone else.

He frowned. "Yes. I thought you had figured that out already, but apparently not. Anyway, back to the main subject. Katsuki, am I supposed to die in a few days?"

His wide eyes refused to let me look away. I tucked my legs into the crisscrossed fashion and nibbled on my lower lip nervously. I felt my throat squeezing, but this time it wasn't because Beyond was trying to kill me.

I was trapped. I couldn't lie without sounding suspicious. But I really didn't want to say the truth.

"Katsuki?"

I grumbled and raised my knees up to bury my head behind them. Then I wrapped my arms around my legs and stayed in that curled up position for a while.

"Katsuki?" He repeated. "I'd like an answer as soon as possible. I do have things to do, you know."

"Fine, L." I whispered. "You're right. You are supposed to die." I said, lifting my head to set my chin on my knees. "That's why I want it postponed. I don't want you to die, L."

He didn't give me much of a response except for a nod. Then he stood up and walked away like nothing happened.

That was it. All he wanted was information. He didn't care about anything else. I almost wanted him to be upset about it, because I really had never seen L being emotional except for a little frustrated. How could he keep it all balled up inside of himself like that? One of these days he would have to let it out… right?

I groaned and let myself roll to the ground. Was he going to postpone it? I needed to know. If he wasn't going to, then not only would L be the world's greatest detective, but would also be the world's biggest idiot, too.

"Katsuki, you don't need to worry." I craned my neck to look over at Light, who was grinning of all things. "L will be fine."

I was surprised that he of all people was able to smile at a time like this.

I nodded slowly and sighed. "I hope you're right, Light… Oh, hey, that rhymed!" I giggled quietly but then stopped abruptly. "That wasn't funny."

Light chuckled for a few seconds and then sighed to run his hand through his hair. "Look, I know that this is probably really late, but I'm sorry for trying to kill you a long time ago."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and studied him with a puzzled expression. "Oh, uh… okay. I can't say I forgive you, but at least you apologized."

He shrugged. "I understand. I don't deserve your forgiveness."

I frowned. "If you're trying to guilt me into getting you out of your impending death, then sorry buddy, but that's not happening."

"No, that's not it at all." He replied, but I was still a little suspicious. "I know that Kira is over."

Wow. That was quite a shock to hear. Light? Accepting defeat? Did somebody replace him with some other guy or something?

I sighed and stood to my feet with my head away to keep from looking at him. "Stop it."

"What?" He asked defensively.

"Stop making me pity you." I snapped.

He didn't say another word. I was glad, because I didn't want to hear it. I wanted to get away from here. I needed a break. There was too much stress in the air.

I went to the doors that automatically slid open to let me through them.

"Katsuki, where are you going?" Light called.

"Just for a walk. Please, leave me alone."

The doors shut on their own and put up a barrier between me and them. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding onto and started walking. All it was going to be was a quick stroll around the block to let go of some steam.

* * *

**Cruddy, short, and very late chapter. You guys deserve better. I'm really sorry it's so late, but I've started writing something for my own enjoyment. No, it's not a fanfiction, but something from my own imagination. And I've been basically working on it more than anything else because all of the ideas are fresh in my mind... :/****  
**

**~BurntPickle**


	25. Chapter 25- Taken

**I don't own Death Note :)**

* * *

Chapter 25

I closed my eyes to walk. Everything was tinted red, and it was driving me nuts. I knew I'd have to get used to it eventually, but for now I wasn't going to even try. Maybe if I wore some sunglasses or something it'd be a little easier for me to adapt, but I wasn't anywhere near the market. I had only gone about ten meters away from the building.

Stress weighed my shoulders down. I had no idea how much all of this was going to take a toll on me when I first agreed to work with L and the rest of the Task Force. But now, as it felt like I was wearing shoes made of concrete, I was starting to wonder if I really should've ever agreed to it at all. Sure, there had been some good times, but I certainly wasn't going to forget the bad times too.

I dropped my hands into the pockets of my jacket and opened my eyes to stare up at the clear blue sky. It was a beautiful, sunny day today. It was guaranteed that children were out playing and many people were happy. But it only painted a frown onto my face. Why couldn't the gorgeous sunlight make me feel better, too? Was it because I was part _God of Death_? It made sense. Death usually wasn't sunlight's partner.

I sighed and let my neck to limp. My head drooped forwards for me to stare at the sidewalk in front of me. I didn't know where I had planned to go, so in my head I quickly decided to I was just going to make a quick trip around the block to let go of some anger.

Cars and buses sped past me in a hurry. I didn't even give them a glance as I turned the corner to head down the next stretch of path, but I immediately smacked myself into something solid.

I yelped and stumbled backwards in surprise. I did _not_ just run into the wall, did I?

I looked up to see an elderly man standing there, his right hand clutching a wooden cane to balance himself with. He looked shocked, but not hurt.

Hey, at least I didn't hit the wall like an idiot.

"Sorry." I apologized and scooted past him. I began to continue on with my little walk, but a hand snatched my wrist and held onto it with a tighter grip than I expected. I jerked my arm away and glared at the man, not in the mood to mess with people, but he didn't let go. "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

A sly grin crept onto his face, and he dropped the cane. It clattered to the ground and he reached into his pocket with his newly unoccupied hand. I knew that he couldn't have been wanting to give me money to buy myself a new wardrobe, so I backpedalled to try and escape. But for an old man, he had a grip of steel. All that I did was irritate the skin on my wrist.

I tried to scream, but I couldn't get my voice to work. I was too panicked and scared to scream, even when he trust a washcloth towards my face.

I ducked to try and avoid, but that only resulted in him slamming his palm into my forehead, sending a throbbing pain through my entire skull. His attack made my vision blur, and my knees gave out. I crumbled to the ground and gasped for a breath, but my mouth was soon blocked by a damp washcloth, and seconds later my head swam, and everything seemed to just fade away.

* * *

When I finally became conscious again, I was greeted by an enormous headache. I groaned and kept my eyes shut to try a relieve some of the pressure that was making me head throb like it was beating beaten with a sledge hammer.

The more I tried to fight the pain, however, only resulted in it getting worse. I didn't have much of a choice but to just sit there defenselessly.

I tugged my arms forwards, but I knew my hands were tied behind my back already. They were restrained by some kind of thick rope that refused to loosen. I was leaned back against a cold concrete wall, which actually felt really great on my head. I hadn't opened by eyes yet, but I got the feeling that the room was lit from some light source. The air smelt a whole heck of a lot like a basement.

How did I get here again? I couldn't remember walking here…

Oh yeah…

…

I was kidnapped, wasn't I…?

Terrific. Just fucking terrific.

I slowly cracked opened my eyes, just to get a look at where I was. It was fairly dark, seems how the only source for light was the candle on the far side of the room. The walls and floors were concrete while the ceiling was a bunch of random wood panels and air conditioning vents and such. The air was thick and damp, which could only mean that I was definitely underground. Other than the candle, the room was almost empty except was an interesting wall of different red paint splatters.

Never mind… I don't think that was red paint.

"Ah, you're awake." A voice cackled as a door squealed from being opened. A second later it shut, and I saw the old man from before walking forwards without his cane. Maybe he was younger than he looked. "Did you sleep well?" He asked as he came over and crouched in front of me with a yellow-toothed smile and a breath that smelt like sewers.

I tried to spit in his face, but instead of spit coming out, blood did. I was more surprised than he was when the glob of shiny red liquid landed on his cheek and dripped downwards.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine today?" He joked.

"Where the hell am I?" I snarled. "And why am I here?"

He shrugged and stood up to pace around. "I didn't need a reason. It's been a while since I had a toy to play with."

His words sent a chill down my spine that stopped at the base and lingered there. I was scared, pissed, and lost. Not a good combination when you're already up to your knees in stress.

"Fine, where am I?" I asked again, trying to get information out of him.

"There's no point in me telling you that. You won't be leaving, anyway."

I tried to not gasp. So he apparently had the intention of killing me. I wasn't too happy about that, but he apparently to be thrilled. Judging by the color and amount of blood on that wall, it was safe to assume he had at least two victims but at least a year ago was his more recent kill.

"I don't know what you want, but kidnapping me was a horrible idea."

"Was it?"

"Yes!" I snapped. Where the hell was L? Holy crap that rhymed.

_Anyway…_

"Tell me your name, girl." He purred.

"Uh, how about no?" I countered, narrowing my eyes.

He chuckled. "For someone who is completely out of her element, you seem to be awfully witty. Especially when you're completely defenseless."

I wanted to smirk, but I couldn't manage to get it completely. "For someone who looks to be older than time itself, you seem to be awfully creepy." I mocked. Could I possibly get myself out of this with words? Probably not. But I could stall for long enough for L to hopefully realize that I was missing and maybe track me down and put this creep behind bars.

He barked out a laugh. "You know, I like you. You're entertaining."

"I'm so glad." I hissed. "If I was standing I would do a little curtsy for you."

He continued to laugh until his lungs couldn't take it anymore, and he was forced to bend over and cough to get some kind of breath. His hacking with rough, which made me think he possibly smoked. He did have that color of teeth, and his skin just had that look to it.

I wanted out and back at the headquarters. I was already getting scared, and I felt incredibly vulnerable, which I absolutely hated. I still didn't know what entirely was happening, and if I was now in some old town deep within the wilderness of Russia, I would have no clue. That's what scared me the most; the unknown. Even if I did escape, I might discover that there was no way I could get home, and then I'd be totally screwed.

"So, you willing to tell me your name now? If not I'll give you a nickname." He offered.

I weighed my options. If I got some sort of nickname, it probably wouldn't be a good one that I would like. It's most likely be something weird or nasty, and I didn't want that lingering in the back of my mind. On the other hand, if I gave away my real name then he could easily look up information about me, since it had to be _somewhere_, and if he had the right equipment, he could possibly figure out that I had something to do with the Kira case.

So I took to easy way out.

"My name… is Ashley." I replied, trying to think of a random name that sounded normal. Ashley, huh? Not bad, I guess.

"Ah, well then, I will call you Ash. I might even write it in your blood if you'd like."

"I'd love that." I sneered.

Instead of catching onto my sarcasm like he did earlier, he walked forwards and drew a knife from the pocket of his pants. I let out a whimper and tried to back further into the wall, but that didn't seem to be happening.

_Come on Shinigami powers! Activate! GO THROUGH THE FREAKING WALL!_

I couldn't avoid him as the knife slashed across my chest, cutting me right beneath my collar bones. I cried out and clenched my eyes shut, but I could still feel the burning and the blood seeping down my skin. He hadn't cut me deeply, but that didn't mean it felt good.

He ran a fingertip across the wound to wipe some of the blood onto his finger, and then dragged it over my forehead. I knew he was writing Ash after the first or second swipe.

Tears stung my closed eyes and threatened to spill over onto my cheeks. I wanted to go back home, where the rest of my makeshift family was waiting for me. Or were they? Maybe they hadn't even noticed I was missing. I had no idea how long I had been unconscious. Weeks could've gone by and I would've had no idea.

"Tell me this, Ash: Why are your eyes red?"

I opened my eyes in realization. In my total and complete panic, I had basically forgotten about my Shinigami eyes. Those were the one power I had that couldn't go away unless he scooped my eyeballs out, and really, that would suck.

I stared at his name. Patterson Smith was his name, and his lifespan was short. It appeared to be counting down in seconds, and apparently, he had 109823 seconds left to live, however long that was. I didn't even know how many seconds were in a day, so I had no clue if he was going to die anytime soon.

"Because they can be, that's why." I answered him in a whisper. I didn't want to shed the truth onto him, since that would just mean more questions to be asked, and I really wasn't in the mood.

He snorted. "That's not the answer I wanted, Ash."

"That sucks, doesn't it?"

He huffed and shoved the knife back into his pocket. "Fine, you win for now, but I will get the truth out of you sooner or later. For your sake, you better how its sooner."

I didn't know why he added the last sentence, but I didn't really want to know, either. I watched as he stood up and walked away to exit the room and shut the door behind him, leaving me in utter silence. My wound still bled but there wasn't much I could do about that issue.

I groaned and leaned my head back against the wall. What was I going to do now? With the trail coming so soon (or maybe it already happened. I wouldn't know), I didn't have time to be kidnapped. I had two Kiras to stop for crying out loud! Why the heck do things like this keep happening? It's as if fate just wanted Light and Misa to live.

I was still curious as to how long This Patterson Smith had. He had, like 109800 seconds left, or something like that. I couldn't remember all the digits.

So… there are sixty seconds per minute, and sixty minutes per hour. So… sixty times sixty would equal 3600 seconds. With twenty-four hours per day, that would be 3600 multiplied by twenty-four, which got me… 86400 seconds! So he really only had, like, a day and a half to live, or something like that. I was impressed with myself and my mental math. Of course, it took me, like, two minutes in total to figure it all out, but at least I got an answer.

So in that case, I might get lucky enough to have myself untied and able to leave by then. And if not… well then… I didn't want to think about that option.

It would only be a day. I'd be fine. He wouldn't kill me yet. I still had some wit in me. I thought it was safe to assume that he would try to drain me of all confidence before actually ending my life.

I closed my eyes and whispered a silent prayer under my shaky breath. I wasn't super religious, but it was worth a shot. It's not like I had many options.

* * *

I was awoken again by the sound of the door open. Apparently I had fallen asleep again, but this time on my own accord. Patterson walked through the open door as he poured a liquid onto a cloth while he got closer to me. When he felt that the cloth was soaked enough, he tipped the bottle to air straight up to keep more liquid from coming out, but he didn't stop getting closer.

When he got too close for comfort, I lashed out to the best of my ability. I assumed that it was chloroform. What else would it be?

I kicked my feet up into the air and smashed the heel of my foot into his chest, which was as high as I could reach. He tripped backwards, dropping the bottle of chloroform to the ground. It spilt everywhere, creating a huge mess. I was already overwhelmed by the scent, but to make it worse, while I was still trying to regain some sort of balance after my attack, Patterson had managed to charge forwards and basically shove the rag up my nose, not giving me much of a choice.

I fought against him and tried to escape, but I couldn't move easily. I could feel my body going numb, starting with my fingers and toes. I screamed and did my best, but with my arms tied behind my back and my vision blurred from pure rage, I was next to defenseless.

All too soon I ran out of energy. I started to slow down, and eventually I gave out and crumbled to the ground, cracking my head against the concrete in the meantime.

* * *

**Please don't kill me! I beg of you! **

**I understand that you're probably mad, so... please flame responsibly? *nervous grin***

**If I put my mind to it, I might be able to get the next chapter up within a week or so. Kill me and that's not gonna happen now, is it?**

**And trust me, Katsuki _might_ be fine. But that all depends if things go according to plan. :)**

**~BurntPickle**


	26. Chapter 26- Fire, Fire, Fire

**Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note**

**Sorry for the short chapter :(**

* * *

Chapter 26

I had never wanted to not open my eyes as much as I didn't right now. I knew something was wrong, but I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what it was. I could feel my wrists were chained on either side of me against some kind of cold, hard surface, probably a wall or something. My ankles dangled carelessly below me. It felt like I was upright instead of laying down because my toes were strangely heavy. My head was throbbing, and the right side of my face felt sticky. I assumed that after I cracked my head against the concrete, I probably bled quite a little bit. Maybe that could explain part of the nausea that was making me uncomfortable.

I coughed a few times to clear my dry throat. I felt extremely dehydrated, even though the air around me was damp. Everything smelt like mold and sewers, but also gasoline. I scrunched up my nose in response and opened my mouth to breathe, but it only got worse, because then I could taste the grime that lingered in the air itself, and was definitely settled on my skin.

I let my eyes drift open eventually, curious to know my surroundings. It because apparent that I was in a different room than before. This one had no lights that were on, which surrounded me in complete darkness. I couldn't even make out any kind of shapes or silhouettes or anything. It was as if I was blind or something. Of course, there was the expected maroon tint to the darkness, like dried blood, so I could guess that I wasn't blind, and it was just dark.

I wiggled my fingers to get some blood flowing in them again. There was no way of knowing how long I had been chained, and with the angle my arms were at – just a little higher than my shoulders – much of the blood in my hands was gone.

My back ached with an unnatural pain. It was strange. It felt like my muscles were cramped, but they also stung, as if I had recently been struck by something. I wanted to know the cause of it, but I let that thought drift off in my head for later.

I snapped my chin up at the sound of a match being lit. The familiar hiss came from just a few feet in front of me. I found it funny that I would've never even known someone was there if they hadn't lit that match.

I knew Patterson was there when he brought the match close to the side of his face to illuminate his features. The light cast long shadows across his features, the largest coming from his nose. His lips were curled up into a smile, but it wasn't anywhere near pleasant.

I smirked. "Dramatic, much?"

He chuckled. "Just you wait."

I was confused by his response, but decided that it wasn't worth thinking too much about. All I knew it that he had 5073 seconds left to live. I was too lazy to convert that to minutes, but I knew it was less than a day. I felt horrible for being excited about his death, but I had a good reason to be.

"So, Ash," He started to walk backwards, taking his match with him. The flame flickered so much that I was sure his hair would catch on fire, but that didn't happen. "Do you like fire?"

I frowned. "That depends of the situation."

His smile didn't falter as he released the match and let it fall to the ground. When it landed, I saw little ripples floating away from it, but in a few short seconds, those ripples were swallowed by the fire that was somehow spreading.

Oh.

That explains the scent of gasoline.

…

Fuck.

The fire continued to grow closer and closer. I didn't know how much gasoline he had spilt across the ground, but I didn't feel any on me. Maybe this was all just some kind of scare to show me that he had more power than I did at the moment.

The temperature in the room was rising rapidly. I could feel beads of sweat breaking out onto my forehead. There wasn't much smoke in the air, but the heat made it difficult to breathe. It was like my lungs were cooking on their own.

I watched the flames as they got closer and closer. I pressed myself against the wall to the best of my ability, but I couldn't get far enough back. It was like the Shinigami inside of me _wanted_ me to burn to death.

I could hear Patterson's laugh echoing, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from the fire to look at him. I was sure that he could see the fear painted on my face with the fire illuminating my features with a golden glow. My body was shaking on its own from fear. I was desperate to get away from the immense heat, but I couldn't go anywhere.

I bent my knees to press the bottoms of my feet to the wall to avoid the fire that was too close to my toes. All of my weight was put into my cuffed wrists, which dug into my skin and would probably cause me pain later.

"Looks like Ash is going to burn to ashes!" He chanted repeatedly to know real rhythm. Even though annoying, his voice rang in my ears and rattled my head. That wasn't even my real name, but he'd never know that.

I wasn't chained high enough that my legs were safe. I could feel the tips of the flames licking my skin and killing the nerves. I couldn't help but let out a scream in despair and terror.

I kicked my legs out and around to try and put out the flames that were basically melting my flesh, but all that did was encourage the fire to grow. I screamed again, letting my voice bounce around the room.

I was burning alive. And it hurt like hell.

Tears stung my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop them from spilling onto my cheeks. In fact it felt good to have something moist on my cheek.

As the pain and fire spread I could feel my struggles weakening. My body was going numb. I couldn't see my legs anymore; just fire.

My vision blurred. Maybe it was from the tears, or maybe it was being my consciousness was fading. But I did know for certain that when everything in my sight turned black, that my fight was over.

Of all things I expected, opening my eyes again was not one of them. I would've thought that my legs hurt, but they didn't. I couldn't feel them, that's why.

"Oh fuck…" I grumbled as soon as the rest of my body began to wake up with me. I felt like a piece of burnt bacon.

"Good morning, Katsuki." An unfamiliar yet warm voice greeted me. I was happy to hear my real name again, but I didn't know who was using it.

I looked around for the source of the voice with low lidded eyes. I wanted to go back to sleep, but I wasn't going to do that without figuring out if I was in some kind of heaven/hell or not.

A middle aged man dressed in a long white coat stood beside me. I could tell that I was laying down on my back with a pillow behind my head to support me, but I couldn't figure out why.

"Huh?" I mumbled. "What happened?"

"How much do you remember?" He countered my question.

I frowned. "I blacked out while I was burning alive." A moment later I winced at my recent sentence. "Wow, I never thought I'd say that."

He smiled. "According to what I've heard, the fire department found you while they were putting out the fire. Incredibly you were still alive."

_You don't say…_

"Oh." I looked around at the room I was in. I had been in a room like this many times before. It was a hospital room. Why was I constantly ending up here? "Am I okay?"

"You received many first and second degree burns, and a few third degree ones, mostly on your legs, but given time you'll be completely healed."

He almost sounded too pleased with himself to seem genuine, but there wasn't anyone else for me to ask.

I looked at my legs to guess for myself how long it would take to heal. But instead of seeing an endless amount of burns, they were wrapped in bandages from my toes all the way to my hips.

"Oh jeez…"

The doctor dropped a hand onto my shoulder. "There's no need to worry. We can remove the bandages in a few days once the skin has had time to heal some."

I sighed and let my shoulders fall. I wasn't as happy as I wanted to be. Of course I was glad to still be alive, but now I couldn't even walk, which left me either in a wheelchair or stuck in the hospital. And that was going to suck either way.

"How long do I have to stay here?"

"I expect about a week or two." He answered, still smiling.

I sucked my lips into my mouth and nodded my head reluctantly. I didn't want to accept this, but I didn't have a choice. I knew I should've been happy that it was only my legs that were harmed, but I wasn't. I was frustrated with myself, knowing that if I would've just stayed at Headquarters, none of this would've happened.

Suddenly the doctor looked over at the door. I followed his gaze to a woman dressed in green baggy clothes standing there, peeking her head inside. "Is she in a stable condition? She had impatient visitors."

"What do you think, Katsuki?" The doctor asked, looking down at me curiously.

"Let them in. Please."

He nodded to the nurse, who quickly disappeared behind the door after I gave my answer.

A few seconds later, my family burst into the room. Well, Misa threw herself through the door, who was followed by Light, L, and Beyond, who were all casually walking.

"Kat!" Misa wailed and tried to wrap her arms around me, but was blocked by the doctor's arm.

"I'm very sorry miss, but Katsuki is very sore. Contact could possibly irritate her skin further."

Misa pouted but didn't argue. The doctor looked to all of them, and then to me, before excusing himself with a quick goodbye and then leaving.

"Are you okay?" Misa whined, dropping into a chair beside me.

I nodded and smiled a little. "Yeah. I'll be fine."

It didn't take long for me to notice the anger hiding behind L's large eyes. It was unnatural for him to look like that, and I couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

L sighed. "You've been missing for five days."

At first I was confused. So what? Five days? Yeah, that was quite a long time, and the majority of the time I was unconscious for whatever reason. But soon the realization hit me.

The court session. I missed it.

"What?!" I squeaked and struggled to not jerk up into a sitting position. "Are you telling me I missed the trial?"

He nodded. "Yes."

I looked from L to Misa and then to Light, and then back at L. "What happened?"  
"Due to your disappearance, we didn't have sufficient evidence except for Beyond, and apparently that was not enough."

"Which means…" My voice trailed off after I tried to continue L's sentence.

"Yes, Light and Misa were not executed."

A strange sense of relief and anger washed over me. I was glad that Misa wasn't killed, because really, she wasn't that bad of a girl. But I was mad that I missed the entire thing thanks to stupid Patterson, and we even lost it.

I let go of a tight breath. "That's okay. As long as you two promise to not kill anyone else, then we should be fine, right?"

The two Kiras exchanged a glance before nodding in unison.

Lastly I looked at Beyond, who was leaned back against a wall. He wore a black shirt and blue jeans, and his eyes were cast down. Like he was… ashamed.

* * *

**I wrote this chapter so many times it's not even funny. First it started with Kat almost being drowned, but then I deleted that. Then she was almost raped, but I deleted that, too. I ended up settling for being burned, since I just couldn't get anything better out of my head.**

**I was going to leave you at a cliffhanger, but then the chapter wouldn't been horribly short, and I wasn't going to let that happen.  
**

**Okay, so truth be told, I was going to have this end at the court scene. I was going to have everyone be killed by Rem because she'd be pissed about Misa being put in danger. But then this fanfiction would've ended as a short twenty-something chapters. So, not only is this story going to continue, but I'm now going to have to think of some other good ending. Which is why I am going to take suggestions from anyone about an ending. I may not use it, but I might piece together an ending with parts of multiple suggestions from people.**

**One last thing. xluvr17 mentioned in a comment that he/she ships Kat and Beyond together. To let another secret out, I had once had plans to create a spinoff of this story with those two eventually getting together. But I eventually dropped the idea and instead started my other fanfiction. But since she brought it up, it made me wonder if anyone else ships them. So there's going to be a poll on my profile for you to submit your thoughts on. If a large majority of people do want them together, then I might turn this into a KatxBB story for you guys. That wasn't the original plan, but hey, I've never been one to stick to plans.  
**

**Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, and breathing! :D**

**~BurntPickle**


	27. Chapter 27- The Three Wammy Boys

***Slaps forehead* Okay, so I've made the biggest mistake I could have ever made.**

**I freaking forgot to upload this chapter, and just went on and kept writing the next one.**

**Yeah, that's right. I had it all written out, all nice and pretty (yet really short because I must've forgotten about it or something) and then I just moved onto the next chapter. Maybe I updated it in one of my dreams and thought that it was real O.o**

**Anyway, SO SORRY. The other chapter that you might've already read is being reposted on the next one to keep things in order. So sorry if you were confused!**

* * *

Chapter 27

"You okay?" I asked Beyond, who only glanced up and nodded once without a word. It was strange not seeing him with the normal smirk that he wore. It actually made me concerned.

"He's been acting glum lately." Misa whispered into my ear. "Hasn't said much."

I frowned. "When did it all start?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I think it was after the trial."

"I'm fine, Kitty. Although your concern is appreciated, it is not necessary." He said, giving me a halfhearted smile.

I wasn't fully convinced with that answer, but I didn't get the chance to question him again before the door swung open. A new doctor came in. Or, at least, he was dressed like a doctor.

He was short and young, maybe thirteen years old or so. He had white hair that fell to his eyes in multiple licked curves. He wore a white t-shirt that was, like, three sizes too big for him, and loose blue jeans – just like what L always had on. He had a white coat draped over him, but it was also too big. He had large, dark colored emotionless eyes that immediately flew to where L stood.

"Hello, Near." L greeted the boy with a slight nod.

This 'Near' nodded back but didn't respond to him, and instead focused his attention to me. "How are you feeling?" He asked in a strangely familiar monotone voice that almost copied L's. Except his was even more impassive – just like his eyes.

"Uh, f-fine." I stuttered, dumbfounded. "I mean, for almost being burst to a total crisp, I feel great."

"I see." He replied and took a clipboard off of one of the counters in the room and began scribbling some information on it. "Ryuzaki, Matt and Mello are both also here, as you've requested."

My brows flew together and I gave a look to L. "Who are they?"

"Just two of my successors, that's all." L muttered to me and then continued the conversation with Near. "Thank you for getting here so quickly."

"I understand. The trail didn't go as expected, correct?" Near said, flicking his gaze to Misa and Light. The two said people flinched but didn't say a word. Clearly they were both as confused as I was. It was painted on their faces.

"Yes."

I sat there, my upper lip curled in misunderstanding. It was like listening to two robots talking to one another. It was scary but intriguing at the same time.

"Where are Matt and Mello at this moment?" L asked.

"From what I've heard, they are at your Headquarters getting situated."

I could've sworn a pained look crossed L's face, but maybe that was just me.

"Very good."

"Wait, slow down." I interrupted. "Are these two – Matt and Mello – here to stay?"

"No, they are just here for practice on the field to get a feel for what their future holds." L explained to me. "Near, Mello, and Matt, in order, are my top three successors. Once I die, the title of L will be passed on to one of them."

My jaw dropped to the floor. "I want one!" I squealed.

"Why would you want a successor if you have no important reason for your name to survive throughout multiple generations?" Near asked with a tilt of his white haired head.

I scowled towards him, a little insulted. "Who _wouldn't_ want to become me?" I countered.

"I can come up with at least four people." Beyond commented.

I sighed and slid him a glare. "Glad to see you're back to your usual self." I hissed.

He smirked, but didn't give me a verbal response.

I held his gaze for a few more seconds before tearing away from his eyes. He was wearing his contacts again, but I wasn't. Thinking back, I was surprised the doctor hadn't mentioned anything. Maybe it was part of his job to never point out things like that.

Suddenly I heard a buzzing noise. The entire room went still for a moment before L dug into his pocket and took out his phone. He flipped it open after grimacing, and held it up to his ear. "Hello?" His voice sounded neutral, but there was a certain worried look etched into his eyes. "Ah, yes, Matt, I'm very glad you're there. Have you and Mello unpacked you things?" L almost sounded genuine in his words, but after hearing him speak normally for so long, it was easy to notice the stress in his tone. "Good. We will be there for dinner. Try to entertain yourselves until then, please." L's eyes moved to me. "Yes, she is alive and very capable of holding a steady conversation. I do believe that she will be healed and released from the hospital soon."

"Hey, Beyond, do Shinigami heal fast? I've never asked Rem." Misa asked.

Near frowned. "Do you really believe Shinigami exist? I hope you realize that they are just made up creatures."

Beyond snorted. "Sure thing, Nate."

His eyes widened with extreme shock. He stood there, speechless.

I sighed and took it upon myself to explain. "Beyond and I both have the eyes of a Shinigami. He was born with it, and I somehow had the power locked up inside of me, until recently. But, unlike him, I am part Shinigami all together, so I can do things like turn invisible like a Shinigami, and materialize at my will – or, at least, that's what the plan was. I don't really have control over it yet."

Near was still surprised, but slowly began to regain his composure. "I see."

"To answer your question, Misa," Beyond piped up. "I don't really know. A Shinigami itself doesn't exactly get hurt unless it is punished by the Shinigami God, and I've never witnessed that. But I would assume that they would heal quickly so they can get back to their… duties… or whatever they do."

I noticed that Light had been silent this entire time, but I didn't blame him. He almost died a few days ago. Maybe he was still in shock.

"No, Matt, please say at-" He tried to speak quickly through the telephone, but I knew the line went dead when he stopped talking. He reluctantly snapped the phone shut. "Headquarters." He finished.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Looks like Matt and Mello are apparently 'bored', and are already on their way here. I don't understand how those two can't just stay at one place for more than three minutes."

This time it was Near who winced, but he didn't say a word.

"Is it bad that they're stopping by?"

"No, but they're definitely… reckless at times." The detective sighed.

I shrugged. If L thought someone was annoying, then what would I think of them?

"Ryuzaki," Watari was standing in front of the door when I looked over. I hadn't noticed the door opening. "Are you aware that the boys are here?"

I didn't know it was possible, but L's face seemed to drain of what pigment was left. "Already?"

"Yes, sir. Shall I stop them?"

Before L got the chance to respond, a voice bellowed up and down the hallway outside of the room.

"Watari! Hey old man, it's been some time." A voice cheered as a hand slapped down on Watari's shoulder. Then a red haired teen maneuvered his way around him. He wore goggles that shielded his eyes, and his arms were covered by a black and white striped shirt, with a vest covering his core, and dark colored jeans. His entire stride radiated relaxation, as if he didn't have a care in the world. I had to admit, he was quite hot. Normally I wouldn't say such a thing, but… damn.

Watari cleared his throat and pressed a hand to his mouth. "Hello there, Matt. Is Mello here, too?"

"Yeah, but he was having some issues with the elevator, and decided to take the stairs."

I frowned. "Then how are you here so quickly?" Then my eyes widened as my imagination began to run wild. "Can you teleport? Or maybe you have wings sprouted from your shoulder blades! But, to think logically, maybe Mello is insanely plump and takes a moment to get up a few flights of stairs. Are you a track star? You could just be extremely fast and had no problem getting up the stairs."

"Or maybe I can just fix the elevator before Mello even takes three steps out of the thing." Matt was blankly, but his voice was lighthearted. Unlike Beyond, it seemed that his insults were undoubtedly just for laughs, instead to possibly get someone down.

"Matt has a great talent with any kind of technology," L clarified. "That's probably how he was able to figure out our location."

Matt nodded slowly. "Yeah. You may have top-of-the-line security, Ryuzaki, but it's still hack-able. I suggest changing your password to something other than-"

His voice was cut off when the door swung open even further. A long haired blonde strode in without a word, but had the exact opposite aura as Matt. The room felt tenser as soon as the blonde stepped inside.

"You must be Mello." I tried to break the sudden silence that had started to develop. "I must say, I thought you were a guy when I heard about you."

Mello stopped in his tracks and shot me the most lethal, hate-filled glare that I could imagine. He didn't need a Death Note to kill someone with a glower like that. "I_ am _a guy, smart one."

My lips circled into an 'O' shape. "Of course. Sorry." I quickly answered. Mello was just a smidge taller than Matt, but had twice as strong of a stance. I knew already to not mess with him. He was thin, and wore a lot of leather all over his body; including pants and a vest. You could see the muscles on his arms bulging underneath his skin. He had sharp blue eyes that appeared extremely observant. I couldn't say he was as hot as Matt, mostly because I thought he was a girl when I first saw him.

"Word of advice," Matt shouted in a whisper tone. "Don't call him a girl."

"Thanks, didn't realize that." I whispered/yelled back and gave Matt a thumbs up.

Mello pursed his lips and slid his glare back and forth from me to the red head. "Please tell me you both aren't so stupid that you really think I can't hear you."

I put on a shocked expression. "Oh crap. He can hear us?"

Matt smirked before playing along. He threw on the same surprised look that I wore, just to humor me I guessed. "That explains a lot."

When Mello appeared more confused than ticked off, Matt and I lost the act and started laughing together.

"Based off of their easygoing interactions, one could guess that they have known each other for quite some time now." Near mumbled. I barely heard him over my laughing.

"No, Near, they're both just two idiots on the same wavelength." Mello grumbled.

"Hey, that wasn't nice." I perked up with a pout abruptly. It took Matt a moment to calm his laughter, but eventually he got to the point where he was relaxing against the wall, his hands shoved into his pockets. His lips were curved into a smug grin.

"You can't ever expect him to be nice when you piss him off." Matt said with an innocent shrug, completely ignoring the hate filled glares that were coming at him from Mello.

"Oh shut up…" Mello grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.

* * *

**For all of you that have read chapter 28 already, does it make more sense now? Man, you guys really should've pointed that out to me earlier! Just kidding, it's my fault, not yours XP  
**

**~BurntPickle**


	28. Chapter 28- Vampires and Gun Games

**Don't own Death Note...**

* * *

"Oh come on, you know better than I do that Jacob is much hotter than that pathetic vampire boy." I rolled my eyes and picked at a mound of Jell-O on my plate with a fork. It had become my favorite thing at the hospital.

Matt rolled his eyes, reclining back in the plastic chair from across the room. He had his goggles up on his forehead, revealing a pair of piercing green eyes. "He only appeals to you because you're a female."

"Yeah, nice observation there, Matt." I joked. "But still, what makes you think Edward is all that?"

"He stopped that van from hitting Bella." He pointed out. "And played a bad ass game a baseball."

"Jacob can do both of those, _and_ turn into a bad ass wolf. I'd like to see your sparkly boy do that!"

He snorted. "Can your wolf sparkle?"

I pursed my lips together tightly before speaking. "Get me five gallons of glitter and some glue and I'll show you."

Recently, I had watched the Twilight movie with Matt, Mello, Near, and Misa. Everybody but Matt had left to go and get something to eat, but before that decision was made, Matt and I were already in a heated argument over which was better; Team Jacob or Team Edward. Personally I was a Jacob fan. Maybe it was a Shinigami thing to be attracted to someone… I don't know… alive?

"You'd also need Taylor Lautner." Matt reminded me. "I can get you the other two items that you'll need, but you're going to have to get the guy yourself."

"I'm sure I can figure something out." I shrugged.

He snorted. "Okay."

I shook my head and stuck a forkful of Jell-O into my mouth, making obnoxious sound effects as I did so. The Jell-O was incredibly sweet, but it tasted great anyway.

"So," I started again with a mouthful. "L said you were some kind of electronic whiz or something. Care to elaborate on that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I thought we were using his alias name."

"Oh… whoops…"

He smirked, but continued. "Anyway, he was right about that. When it comes to technology, I can figure it out just like that. I fixed the elevator with ease. The wiring was incredibly simple though. It was bound to fail sometime."

"Jeez, you're modest." I muttered.

He chuckled and folded his hands behind his head. "You could say that."

"So… what does Mello do?"

Matt raised a curious eyebrow. "Why do you want to know?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I'm curious. It was obvious that Near is the genius L-incarnate one. And you're the nerd."

His eyes tightened at my unintended insult, but soon relaxed like nothing happened. "Mello is very bold, and is great in dangerous situations. He rarely hesitates." Matt paused for a brief moment. "Of course, he can also be unpredictable and short tempered. Making him incredibly dangerous."

I nodded slowly. "That's cool. I guess."

His lips were sunken in a frown. "Sometimes. But, man, you get Near and Mello in the same room and it's like you're_ trying_ to start a war."

"Near didn't seem like the type to argue a lot." I stated, confused.

"He's not. It's Mello who just gets jealous. You see," Matt leaned forwards and planted an elbow on each knee. His back was slouched forwards, and his crimson colored hair draped around his eyes. "Near is first in line to become L after said detective dies. Next is Mello. I'm the third smartest from where we were raised, so I could succeed L if really necessary, but I doubt that's going to happen. The chances of Near _and_ Mello dying are quite slim."

"Really?"

"Yep. Now, I'm also a little curious; how are you involved with this?"

"Oh…" My lips curled into a pucker as my voice trailed down. "Well, you see… I don't think I'm allowed to tell you."

He frowned. "Why not?" Suddenly his eyes widened. "You're totally a secret agent, aren't you? L hired you or something and you're sworn to secrecy." He smirked and waved a dismissive hand. "I totally understand now. No need to explain further."

I bit back a harsh laugh. "Uh, yeah, you certainly hit the nail on the head there, didn't you? I guess they call you the _third_ smartest for a reason."

"Katsuki, I don't think it is wise to humor him like so. It could lead to many different problems in the future."

_Speaking of the genius devil._

L stood in the doorway, holding a cookie in between his thumb and forefinger. It had a large bite taken out of it.

Matt swiveled his head to look at L. "Oh, hey. Didn't hear you come in."

"That's because it doesn't take much noise to walk through a lockless door." L said bluntly.

I noticed Matt's eyes roll away from L, but I didn't think much of it. I would've done the same if L was talking to me.

"Anyway, L, where is everyone else?" I asked, looking over his shoulder for any signs of other people.

"Light and Misa are waiting patiently downstairs. Mello and Near got into a slight… argument, are being forced to separate for a short time. Watari is with Mello, calming him down." L explained.

I frowned, instantly noticing he left someone out.

"And what about Beyond? Where did he go?"

"Oh, yes, last I heard he was on his way back to Headquarter. He mentioned something about being a little tired."

"Is he walking?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't he be? You're the only one with an injury."

I sighed. "I know that. I'm just curious as to why someone didn't drive him."

"He insisted on walking. Nobody was going to try and stop him. And B is strong enough to fend for himself if necessary, so I'm not worried about him."

"Yeah, but… I don't know, he just has been seeming off lately."

"Yes, I have noticed that also. However, I doubt that it is worth trying to encourage him to admit whatever trouble is going on in his mind. He had never been one to confess truthfully."

I only nodded slowly. "I guess you're right."

Matt finally spoke up once a silence had settled in the room. "So, you never told me how you're involved with this case."

I shrugged my shoulders carelessly and let my gaze fall to the foot of the bed, my mind still dwelling over Beyond. Something told me that he was upset. It was all too obvious for someone to not notice.

"I'm part Shinigami." I admitted quietly.

"Huh?" Matt blinked in disbelief. "What do you mean by that?"

I lifted my eyes to stare directly into his. "I meant exactly what I said. I'm part Shinigami." I pointed to my eyes. "Mail Jeevas, I speak the truth."

He paled immediately, his eyes widening to the size of moons. "How do you know my name? Oh, and you pronounced it wrong, by the say. It's not mail, but mile."

"Sorry, correction: _Mile_ Jeevas. And I have the eyes of a Shinigami, so I can see your name and lifespan." I checked Matt's lifespan just because it was on my mind. The numbers were large, so that was probably good. Unlike Patterson's, they were counting down by the second.

"Whoa… that's actually pretty damn cool."

I pursed my lips into a tight smile and nodded slowly. "You could say that."

"What else can you do?"

"Let see… I can turn invisible and turn into nothing without my own accord, and apparently see the lifespans and names of people. It's nothing great, really. I mean, when you turn invisible for a few days without having a single clue on how to turn back, it's really stressful. Especially when you have to deal with an apple-obsessed Shinigami."

Matt looked completely confused. I didn't blame him. "So, Shinigami really do exist…" He breathed. Apparently the shock was finally setting in. "And all this time, I've just thought they were some made up idea."

"Yeah, well, so did I. At least your soul isn't part of one."

"Mind explaining how that happened?"

I shrugged again. "I have no clue. Apparently I was just born with it." I looked to L. "Got any ideas?"

"No, I do not. However, the Shinigami you are acquainted with, Ryuk I believe his name was, might be helpful."

"Oh yeah!" I looked around the room. "Ryuk?" I called loudly. "Hey, Ryuk! Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

I was almost happy to see the Shinigami slide through the wall. Although, he was still creepy. Still, he and his pale face were here.

"It's been a long time, Katsuki." Ryuk croaked.

"Yes, it has, Ryuk."

Matt followed my gaze, and his eyes did fall upon where Ryuk stood, but Matt could not see the Shinigami. L, however, could. His large, round eyes were focused directly on Ryuk.

"Wait… so the Shinigami is in here… right now?" Matt looked back and forth from me to the spot where I was staring at.

I nodded once. "Yes." I then flicked my gaze to him. "You're free to say hello. I'll just tell you everything he says if you happen to start a conversation with him." I would let Matt touch the Death Note, but it probably wasn't worth it. It would only bring up more questions out of him.

Matt looked to L uncertainly, as if asking for permission or something, but got no response. It took him a moment to gather up some confidence before saying, "Hello… Ryuk."

Ryuk cackled. "My, my, someone is certainly nervous. What does he think I'm going to do, kill him?"

I rolled my eyes to Ryuk. "In his defense, you are known as the _Gods _of_ Death_, so it makes sense to think so."

"Can I play a joke on him?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's called making a good first impression on someone!"

I felt bad for poor Matt. To him, it looked like I was starting to argue with the air that I breathed. He could only hear half of it, too, which left him to wonder what Ryuk was saying, anyway.

Ryuk sighed. "Fine, what is it that you wanted, anyway?"

"Do you have any idea how I actually became part Shinigami?"

"I don't know all the details; you aren't very popular in the Shinigami Realm. But, from what I've heard, when you were born part of your soul was missing. Enough of it was gone that a Shinigami decided to make you his incarnate. If you hadn't been born with a soul at all, you'd be full Shinigami, but clearly you are not. I never knew it was possible to transfer parts of our so called 'souls' to a human, but apparently someone figured it out."

"So that Shinigami would be like my father, or mother, or something. Right?"

"In a way, yes."

I was almost thrilled to hear that I might actually have a parent. Sadly, I might never figure out who that Shinigami was, but I at least saw a small twinkle of hope to pray to.

"Okay, so do you know how much of my soul is Shinigami?"

"I would guess somewhere around one-third to one-half, seems how you're just now developing your powers. If you were more, you'd probably would have been born with the eyes already, or perhaps you would've learned how to go invisible sooner."

"Got it." I said with a nod.

"Anything else?"

"Have you learned anything new?"

"No, nothing of importance. Sorry."

"It's fine, no big deal. Oh, actually, one more thing; do Shinigami heal faster than normal? Because I don't want to be sitting here for longer than necessary."

"I don't believe your will heal any faster. Considering we are dead, there should be no need to heal, since dead people don't exactly get hurt, and their bodies have no need to regenerate."

I groaned. That wasn't the kind of news I wanted to hear.

"Alright, thanks Ryuk."

And then Ryuk disappeared through a wall. I let go of a breath and slouched back against the wall that my bed was pushed up against.

"Is he gone?" Matt asked, looking around nervously.

"Yeah, he's gone."

"What did you learn?"

I told him a quick summary of everything that Ryuk said. To him, it probably didn't make a lot of sense, but as I repeated all of the information, it was slowly starting to fall into place in my head, which was definitely a good thing.

The whole lack of fast healing skills sucked, though. I wasn't thrilled about waiting for my legs to get better.

I poked at the bandages that surrounded my legs. Just the small amount of pressure I applied made my leg sting. I hadn't even seen the real damage of my skin, but I wasn't interested in it. I knew what to expect; large painful blistered, peeling red and charred skin, possibly the exposure of part of the bone near my ankle or something. I was burning alive, for heaven's sake. I knew it wasn't going to be pretty underneath.

"You know what you should do? You should bring us some video games." I said to Matt.

He raised his eyebrows, a smile curling his lips. "You like video games?"

"I've never actually played them, but I've heard they're fun."

His jaw dropped. "Really? You've never played a video game?"

I nodded sadly. "I'm dead serious."

He couldn't hide the grin that was fighting to surface. "Alright. I'll go and get them."

* * *

"I KILLED YOU _AGAIN_!" I bellowed, holding up the controller in accomplishment with a loud woot. "TAKE THAT!"

Matt scowled in disgust. "I should've never taught you how to play…" He muttered.

I danced with my upper body, since my legs were useless. But, let me tell you, I was doing the best belly dance anyone had ever seen. Well, it would've been, if there wasn't a little pudge on my belly, and if I actually had strong stomach muscles. And I didn't have much grace, either. But, that's not the point. It's the reason behind it that made it rock.

For the past three and a half hours, we had been testing out different video games. I hadn't been all that great at many of them, and Matt was a whiz. He not only managed to wire the crappy television in the room to hook up to his awesome gaming system, but he also got perfect Wi-Fi in this place, and we were playing online with people who Matt apparently knew.

And we were playing some game with guns. I couldn't remember what it was called, but it was totally awesome, and I was able to win just by spinning in circles when someone came near me, and emptying my gun. It was the perfect strategy.

"You're just jealous, my dear Throw-rug." I cheered.

"Throw-rug?"

"You know, because you're Matt and all. And mats go on the floor… You get it, don't you?"

His shoulders trembled as he took a swig from his can of soda. "Yeah, I get it." He admitted, setting the can down. "I can't say I like the nickname, though."

"Well, Beyond calls me Kitty and I don't like that one. Not much I can do about it, though."

"Are you two, like, together or something?" He asked, taking his eyes off of the screen for a brief moment to glance at me.

I felt my cheeks heat up immediately. "No." I answered quickly. "_No_."

"Oh. Okay." He replied awkwardly. "Well, anyway," He pressed a button a few times, and suddenly my character crumbled. "I KILLED YOU!" He shouted mockingly as I cried out and smashed the buttons with my thumbs.

"No! My dear Throw-rug, how could you? I thought we were friends!" I pretended to sniffle.

"Not anymore. You crossed the line with the pathetic nickname."

I couldn't help but laugh as I waited for my character to come back to life. "Understood."

* * *

**Okay, thanks to all of your totally awesome ideas, I now have an awesome ending in mind. As long as everything goes as planned, Katsuki will- Oh, whoops, can't tell you guys that! ^_^'. Thank you Pollzy Claire for your ideas, Color o life for your encouraging optimism, Ace de Tarjetas also for your ideas, and KittyPersona for your ideas! I have pieced together all of your ideas and come up with an ending that hopefully everyone will enjoy!**

**The poll was not a success (Only three people voted...), but that's okay!** **I'll be taking it down right after I post this. :)**

**~BurntPickle**


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